Why Yankees should consider moving Eovaldi to the bullpen

By -

Perhaps one of the most intriguing starting pitchers coming into the 2015 season was newly acquired RHP Nathan Eovaldi from the Miami Marlins last offseason. The hard throwing 25-year old righty led the Yankees with 14 wins before going on the disabled list in September. What alarms most Yankee fans about Eovaldi’s 2015 campaign was how well opponents hit against him. In 154.1 innings pitched, “Nasty Nate” surrendered 175 hits, one year removed from leading the league in hits allowed with 223 in 2014. He finished 2015 going 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA and an inadequate WHIP of nearly 1.50.


Barring any free agent signings or trades, the Yankees’ 2016 starting rotation candidates are Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, and Ivan Nova. Eovaldi has below average off-speed pitches paired with poor location which helps opposing lineups key in on him after seeing him multiple times over the duration of the game. Through pitches 1-30 batters hit .253 off of Eovaldi, but after eclipsing 46 pitches batters hit .362 off of him with an OPS .872! Perhaps Eovaldi’s strenuous delivery and sub-par pitching mechanics contributes to his diminishing numbers as the game goes on. Nonetheless, sending Nate to the bullpen would allow him to stay between 20-30 pitches per outing and would give opponents fewer opportunities to see his pitches. Slotting him into the 6th inning role with LHP Chasen Shreve would add to the already lethal 7-8-9 combination of Dellin Betences, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman.

Some pitchers simply thrive out of the bullpen more so than in the rotation. Moving Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen is an intriguing possibility and something that I think manager Joe Girardi should strongly consider heading into Spring Training. After 4 years of mediocrity as a starter, it’s time to see if Eovaldi can have success out of the bullpen.

Article by: Aaron Carroll
Follow me @caaronll
Follow the BBB @bronxbomberblog

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 2, 2016 at 4:04 PM

    That100 MPH Fastball would be lethal outta the pen...
    Do It

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Bronx Bomber Bets: BBBets 9/23

By -
Image
Welcome to our new gambling column at BBB, Bronx Bomber Bets. Here we will be giving out some of our favorite picks of the day and sharing them with our readers. Today, we are giving out 10 picks for all of you, so please enjoy, and bet responsibly. Now, we know that not all of our readers are big gamblers, if they are gamblers at all, so for the first week or so that we give out picks we will be explaining the odds and gambling terminology for anyone out there who is looking to learn about sports betting. Here are our picks:
Read more

Trade Market the Perfect Storm for Yankees to Acquire Starter

By -
Image
 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...
Read more

Pride, Passion and Pinstripes: The greatest Yankees to ever touch the field

By -
Image
No team in baseball history has a story quite like the Yankees. 27 times they’ve found baseball Nirvana which is 16 more than the next closest team (Cardinals). 40 times have the Yankees won the American League, and that is also a major league record. The franchise won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and five straight from 1949-1953, a task no other team has ever accomplished. With all this sustained success, the team has seen some of the greatest players in league history proudly call the Bronx home. Together the Yankees could field multiple All-Star teams with their collective legends, but in this article, I’m going to try and put together a team of legends that I think would be absolutely unbeatable.   Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Read more