In his first session since injuring his elbow late last season, Nathan Eovaldi has no concerns about his elbow.
“I haven’t had any problems,” Eovaldi said Friday morning in an interview with Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “I haven’t had an issues with it. If I didn’t know I had it, I wouldn’t know I was hurt.”
Eovaldi took a month and half off before touching a ball for the first time on December 10th. He credits that time off to really working out his shoulders and preparing for the 2016 season.
The 26-year-old was one of the Yankees best pitchers before his injury. He posted a 14-3 record with a 4.20 ERA. However, the later he got into the season, the more comfortable he seemed and the better he pitched. Two things that hindered Eovaldi’s solid first season in pinstripes were his high walk ratio and struggling to make it past the fifth inning.
Eovaldi knows there are still areas of his game that he needs to fix. But knowing that he has a dominant bullpen late in the games can ease his nerves a little more. “I still want to go as deep as I can in the ballgames,” Eovaldi said. “But you get to that sixth inning and you definitely feel like you’ve got a really good shot at winning the ballgame.”
The right-hander is an important piece for the Yankees to compete and his development and health will be big for 2016.
