Call to the pen
Fansided

The New York Yankees will be just fine without Nathan Eovaldi

By Josh Sippie

facebooktwitterreddit

The New York Yankees were hit with some pretty shoddy news as it turns out that Nathan Eovaldi will be out for the remainder of the regular season with elbow inflammation. The pinstripes currently hold the top spot in the wild card by 4.5 games but losing the most consistent starter this half of the season is not going to do them any favors. 

More from Call to the Pen

The Texas Rangers are making a strong run for top spot and beyond them, the Angels, Twins and Indians all look ready to make a play at the second wild card spot. The New York Yankees will need all hands on deck to hold off any incursion and they will be without the hands of Eovaldi.

So where does that leave them?

CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova have been abysmal for the New York Yankees, and they cannot rely on them to pick up the slack. Masahiro Tanaka can shoulder part of the burden, but aside from him, the New York Yankees find themselves in dire straits. Michael Pineda has surrendered 10 runs in his past 3 games as well.

The New York Yankees were never anchored by their pitching, however. They sat 15th in the league in ERA. That is as middle-of-the-pack as it gets. Teams like Minnesota and Texas, who are vying with the Yankees, sit much farther down the table and the Angels sit just ahead in 14th. The New York Yankees are winning primarily with their offense.

Now obviously they still need pitching to keep them in games, but the Blue Jays have clawed to the top of the division with an average pitching staff. They have established themselves as one of the most fearsome teams in the league based on offensive clout alone. The main problem with the Yankees keeping up with the Blue Jays is not going to be the loss of Eovaldi but the simple fact that their offense is just not on par with their Canadian rivals.

The New York Yankees will be fine without Eovaldi. They should be far more concerned with getting Mark Teixeira back to full health.

Adam Warren will be assuming the rotation spot for Eovaldi. Warren has been chilling in the bullpen since proving that he could actually be a fairly effective starter. He started the season in the New York Yankees rotation and after serving up a slightly-below-average 4.35 ERA in April, he gradually lowered it to a 2.93 ERA before hitting the bullpen at the end of June.

Warren never gave up more than 4 earned runs. That qualifies as ‘keeping your team in the game.’ That is all the New York Yankees need. The Twins, the Indians and the Angels do not have the quality that the Yankees do, Eovaldi or no Eovaldi. Will they be able to catch the Blue Jays? Probably not. But that is a matter of getting Tex back and healthy, not a matter of losing one pitcher that keeps you in the game and replacing him with another.

Next: Severino is doing well too

More from Call to the Pen

Home/New York Yankees