Nathan Eovaldi Excited to Join the Yankees

            

            At first glance, the new Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi may not look like your typical Yankees super star. The 24-year old right-hander, who was acquired from the Marlins last Friday, is coming off a sub-par 2014 season, one in which he struggled to a 6-14 record with a 4.37 ERA, despite pitching most of his games in the pitcher-friendly Marlins Park.

            But, the Yankees really like him, so much that they shipped out the versatile Martin Prado and the homegrown David Phelps just to get ahold of him. Their plan for his Yankees debut appears to be a spot in the backend of their rotation, and needless to say, Eovaldi is more than thankful for the opportunity.

“I’ve been fortunate enough that now I’ll be able to say I’ve played for the two biggest franchises in baseball, the Dodgers and the Yankees,” Eovaldi told the NY Daily News. “I’m really excited and I’m getting ready. The offseason has been going great and I’m looking forward to helping the Yankees out.”

            It’s no secret that the Yankees will need to rely heavily on their new pitcher in order to contend in 2015, as there’s only a handful of pitchers currently on their roster that can be relied on to perform to their full potential. Unfortunately, Carlston Charles Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova were all injury plagued last season, with Nova having to undergo Tommy John surgery.

            But, Eovaldi has embraced the challenge and is confident he’ll be able to do just that when he puts on his pinstripe uniform next Spring.

            In a phone interview, he broke down his pitch selection:

            I want to throw the first-pitch strikes with off-speed stuff, even use it on a 2-1 count or a 1-and-2. I’m working on my changeup a lot more this offseason, just mixing it into my repertoire. Last year, toward the end, it helped me out a lot. I want to keep locating the fastball, then use my slider and curve more and have a better mix.

           And finish the year off strong he did, having allowed just four earned runs over 13 innings pitched in his last two outings of 2014. However, for the most part, Eovaldi's performance in September was still considered by most as a struggle, as he recorded a 5.53 ERA while going 0-4. It'll be interesting to see whether his stat line will improve or not next year when he's throwing in the American League for the first time in his young career.