The New York Yankees have made a change to their starting rotation, removing Nathan Eovaldi and demoting him to a middle relief role.
The New York Yankees season is hanging in the balance as the team just cannot get over the .500 mark and sustain success. They cannot afford to be giving away any more games, so they have decided to make a change to their starting rotation to try and get things on track.
As a result, Nathan Eovaldi has been removed from the starting rotation and demoted to a middle relief role in the bullpen. Eovladi will stick in the bullpen for the foreseeable future, as he will have his next turn in the rotation Friday against the Cleveland Indians skipped. Eovaldi will throw out of the bullpen through at least the All-Star Break.
Manager Joe Girardi is trying to make the most of the demotion, saying Eovaldi is filling a need in the bullpen as a bridge to their three-headed monster of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman at the end of games.
“I think it was somewhat logical with our needs right now,” Girardi said before the loss to the White Sox. “He’ll get straightened out, that I’m not worried about. Nathan’s got good stuff and I think he can really help us if we needed today.”
While Girardi can say this is a result of need in the bullpen, it has actually been a move that was a long time coming. Eovladi has been horrific since the calendar turned to June, as he has allowed at least four earned runs in six consecutive starts. Eovladi pitched to an ERA of 8.65 in June, going 0-3; the Yankees went 1-5 in starts made by Eovaldi.
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His first start in July didn’t help things either. Eovaldi had a 4 1/3 inning, six earned run performance over the weekend against the San Diego Padres that was the final straw, as he is mercifully removed from the starting rotation.
In his place, the Yankees will turn to rookie Chad Green. Green made his major league debut back in May against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That debut didn’t go well, but Green has been strong in his next two appearances.
He made an appearance out of the bullpen in June against the Detroit Tigers, firing a scoreless inning. He made a start over the weekend against the Padres as well, and the results were much better than what Eovaldi delivered.
Green defeated the Padres on Sunday, throwing six innings of one run ball, allowing only three hits and striking out eight. He will take Eovaldi’s spot in the rotation for the mean time, but he nor any other starter should get comfortable with their spot.
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Girardi has not been shy about changing the role of struggling players, and the Yankees have another starting pitcher ready to get back to the major leagues in Luis Severino. The starting rotation has been a weak spot for the Yankees all season, as they are trying to get things figured out sooner than later, even though it may already be too late.