Yankees shut down Nathan Eovaldi with elbow inflammation, depth to be tested
Monday was a good news, bad news day for the New York Yankees.
On the plus side, they defeated the Baltimore Orioles to move with one-half game of the division-leading Blue Jays.
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On the down side, they learned they will be without their most effective and consistent pitcher this season, Nathan Eovaldi, for at least two weeks and potentially the remainder of the regular season.
Manager Joe Girardo announced that Eovaldi is currently dealing with right elbow inflammation, which will require the Yankees to shut him down and reevaluate him in two weeks.
There’s no good time to receive such news, but it’s especially troubling with the Yankees currently in an intense battle for the division crowd. Eovaldi is one of the main reasons New York has been able to hang around while the Blue Jays have dominated baseball after the trade deadline. He’s been the rock in their rotation, going 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA.
Eovaldi had shown some signs of weakening recently. He pitched on Saturday against the Rays and was handed his first loss since June 16. It was apparent that his at times 100 mph fastball was down a few ticks, which led to concern about fatigue or a potential ailment. He went for the MRI on Sunday, which revealed the inflammation.
Now it’s pretty much a waiting game for New York. Even if anything everything goes well, having him back before the end of the regular season could be tricky due to the inactivity. If things don’t improve in that time frame, then they face the real possibility of losing him into the postseason. With Masahiro Tanaka and rookie Luis Severino looking their only reliable starters at present time, getting into the postseason and making a deep run could prove difficult.
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Eovaldi was scheduled to start against the Blue Jays Friday night in the second game of a critical four-game series, so his loss will be felt immediately. In the meantime, Girardi must decide how to set up his rotation going forward.
With CC Sabathia due to return this week, there were reports he was considering using a six-man rotation to limit the wear on all of his starters. That can safely be ruled out now, but the concerns about New York’s rotation holding up will rage on. .
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
