![]() ![]() The worst part is this is not the first time Rothschild has tried to remake a pitcher who didn’t need to be overly changed. Nathan Eovaldi should not return to the Yankees because, as we have already seen, he and Rothschild clearly did not work well together. Rothschild found a good formula in 2015, so why change things up the following year? The Gray comparison I covered this very change over the summer when Eovaldi was being shopped by the Rays. He threw that pitch 22.9 percent of the time despite barely using it ever in his career. Eovaldi’s fastball use didn’t change, but he abandoned the changeup for a splitter. ![]() ![]() Despite that, he led the American League in win percentage and his career appeared on the upswing.Ģ016, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction. Eovaldi still posted a 4.20 ERA but went 14-3 in 27 starts before being shut down with elbow trouble. His fastball use, meanwhile, dropped to 47.9 percent. Rothschild worked with Eovaldi on developing a changeup, which he threw a career-high 20.4 percent of the time. Well, that all changed his first season in pinstripes. Looking up “predictability” in the dictionary would mean seeing his picture. There was a two out of three chance that, as a hitter, one would see that very pitch. Now, consider Eovaldi’s average career use of his fastball coming into 2015 was almost 67 percent. He also threw his fastball 62.9 percent of the time, per Fangraphs, followed by his slider at 24.7 percent. For context, Eovaldi gave up an NL-leading 223 hits in 199.2 innings in 2014. He had a reputation as someone with great velocity, but who was too reliant on his fastball and slider. Nathan Eovaldi first came to New York from the Miami Marlins before the 2015 season, with the Yankees sending Martin Prado and David Phelps to Florida. Sure, he’s improved as a pitcher, but he won’t exactly gel well with pitching coach Larry Rothschild.Įovaldi was a great redemption story of 2018 but if he opts to don the pinstripes again, it may not end well. No disrespect to Eovaldi, but rejoining the Yankees isn’t the best idea. Per Rob Bradford of WEEI, a number of teams are interested in the new and improved Eovaldi, and he speculates the Bronx Bombers would at least “kick the tires” on a potential reunion. Well, the pitching-needy New York Yankees could be interested. This means whichever team signs him will not have to surrender a draft pick, making him all the more attractive a target. Now, he’s a free agent and has no qualifying offer attached. In a season split between the Tampa Bay Rays and World Series champion Boston Red Sox, Eovaldi went 6-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 21 starts. The hard-throwing Texan missed 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned this year. One of the more underrated names in this offseason’s free agent market is right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees have checked in on Nathan Eovaldi, but a reunion should not be in the cards. ![]()
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