New York Yankees: Nathan Eovaldi To Have Elbow Surgery
New York Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi to miss the rest of the season and possibly all of 2017.
During the pregame activities at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees game with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, Nathan Eovaldi revealed that he will be undergoing season-ending elbow surgeries to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor tendon. The flexor tendon was torn off the bone and will require a separate surgery.
Eovaldi was removed from his start during the Yankees’ series in Boston last week. He pitched one inning and was taken out of the game after manager Joe Girardi noticed that Eovaldi’s fastball, which usually hovers around 98 mph, was averging around 93 mph. Eovaldi complained of pain in his right elbow and immediately left to go back to New York to see team doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad. Eovaldi underwent a dye contrast MRI last Thursday, went for a second opinion and the diagnosis was revealed to reporters gathered at the Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
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Eovaldi’s time with the Yankees hasn’t gone as well as he, or the team, would have liked. He has a 4.45 ERA in 279 innings, and he just couldn’t put things together during his time in the Yankees’ starting rotation. The 26 year old was 9-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 124 2/3 innings in 2016.
His 2015 campaign was also cut short when he was diagnosed with elbow inflammation. Eovaldi had Tommy John surgery during his junior year of high school, but didn’t have any issues with his elbow until the 2015 inflammation.
Eovaldi wouldn’t be the first MLB pitcher to attempt a comeback following two Tommy John surgeries, but the chances of being successful and having a long career are slim according to surgeon Robert Keller of the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Keller and his colleague Bill Moutzouros conducted research in 2015 on the effects a second Tommy John surgery has on pitchers’ arms.
"“When you have a second one, you may not come back, and if you do, you won’t pitch as much and you won’t pitch as long.”"
The dual surgeries could also mean that Eovaldi’s time with the Yankees has come to a close. He will be eligible for free agency following the 2017 season so New York could non-tender him over the winter. This move can be made to avoid having Eovaldi on the roster while he’s injured only to have him turn around and sign with another team.
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The New York Yankees could also re-sign him down the road, but recovery from a second Tommy John surgery is longer and more arduous than it is after the first and Eovaldi could be out as many as 14-18 months.