Nathan Eovaldi has no idea what’s coming next. He’s just glad he knows what’s coming now.
Eovaldi isn’t sure if his struggles are behind him. He doesn’t know if the Yankees can climb back into contention. He doesn’t know if he will even be with the team beyond this month.
But two weeks after the right-hander was relegated to bullpen duty, Eovaldi will be back where he feels he belongs Tuesday night, starting against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
“I’ve always been a starter. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with this,” Eovaldi said. “It was just difficult going to the bullpen because I didn’t really have a routine for that. You just never know when you’re going to throw. You just have to be ready every day.”
Starting is almost all that Eovaldi has known, coming out of the bullpen just four times in 126 major league appearances before this month. Before July 5, Eovaldi (7-6) hadn’t made a relief appearance since 2011, but the 26-year-old was effective out of the bullpen, picking up a win while throwing 7 ²/₃ scoreless innings over three games.
Despite Eovaldi going 0-4 with a 9.20 ERA in six starts since the beginning of June, manager Joe Girardi said the move was always intended to be temporary and motivated by a lack of bullpen depth.
In Eovaldi’s most recent start on July 1, he lasted 4 ¹/₃ innings, allowing six runs against the Padres.
“We still consider him a starter,” Girardi said Monday before the Yankees topped the Orioles at the Stadium, 2-1. “He was helpful down there. There was no doubt he was helpful down there. That has been a piece we have struggled to find since June. But it wasn’t necessarily hard because we think he is a starter and we decided to put him back in the rotation.’’
After the first two months of the season, Eovaldi — who went 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA in his first season with the Yankees last year — wasn’t just part of the rotation, but entrenched as one of the team’s most reliable arms. In May, he went 5-0 with a 3.71 ERA, making his disastrous next month harder to process.
“The month of June was just a rough one for me and if I knew [what was wrong], I would’ve figured it out sooner,” Eovaldi said. “I don’t like to struggle out there, but you just got to keep battling through it and look for a positive. I just needed to get back to my fastball, try and use that more and just be aggressive.”
With a strong start against Baltimore, Eovaldi could solidify his role in the rotation, but could also increase the odds that he is starting somewhere else soon. On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported the Pirates have had trade discussions with the Yankees about Eovaldi. The Rangers reportedly have interest as well.
It is nothing new for the Texas native, who was traded by the Dodgers to Miami just before the 2012 trade deadline, then dealt to the Yankees following the 2014 season. It is “out of [his] control,” he said.
He only knows what’s coming now. And for now, that’s plenty.
“I’m excited to be back out there,” Eovaldi said. “I feel like I haven’t started in a while and I love starting.
“I’m here to help the team win any way we can. If it means me going to the bullpen to help out, then I have enough confidence in myself that I’ll make it back to the rotation, and I’m gonna do well [Tuesday] and help the team out.”
