With an American League East crown at stakes, the New York Yankees are set to face the Toronto Blue Jays this season. It turns out that they have to do so without Nathan Eovaldi for at least two weeks due to an elbow injury.
On Tuesday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that the team have to move on without the pitcher for the rest of the regular season as he has been suffering from a right elbow inflammation. The condition was diagnosed earlier this week when Eovaldi underwent an MRI procedure at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The 25-year-old right-hander, who leads his team in wins with 14, has allowed eight runs and a total of 13 hits over ten 1-3 innings during his last two starts. Cashman told the New York Post that the doctor recommends two weeks of complete rest. After that, Eovaldi will be going through a throwing program which will also take about two weeks. The manager noted that the season is running out so the player's return prior to the playoffs is improbable.
Eovaldi's absence in the rotation will likely be filled in by Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia, Jr., who is scheduled to start against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. Sabathia himself has just recovered from a recurrent sore right knee that has hindered him from playing since late last month.
Nathan Eovaldi expressed that his injury has come in a bad time given that the Yankees are just a half-game back of the impending American League East battle against the Blue Jays. "I'm relieved it's just elbow inflammation and that everything's fine with the ligament and stuff, but it just sucks because of the timing of it. Worst timing that it could be," the Yankees pitcher mentioned in an NJ.com report.
Eovaldi said that he did not encounter any discomfort until Saturday when he started feeling tightness in his chest, shoulder, and elbow. His injury adds up to the New York Yankees' growing list of player injuries this year. Aside from Eovaldi's and Sabathia's abovementioned injuries, Masahiro Tanaka suffered from a similar right elbow inflammation and did not pitch between July 8 and 19.
Michael Pineda's right forearm strain prevented him from playing between July 24 and August 26. Furthermore, Chris Capuano sustained strained quadriceps during a spring training game March 11 and Ivan Nova did not make his big league season debut until June 24 due to his ulnar collateral ligament surgery.
