Calamity has struck for Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
According to a report by Wallace Matthews of ESPN on Tuesday, Eovaldi has a torn flexor tendon and a partially-torn UCL in his pitching elbow. The 26-year-old will require surgeries for both and is expected to miss all of 2017.
Catastrophe: Nathan Eovaldi has a torn flexor tendon and partially-torn UCL, will undergo 2 surgeries and will miss all of 2017 season
— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) August 16, 2016
Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal shared just how badly Eovaldi’s elbow had been injured.
Nathan Eovaldi's flexor tendon was torn clear off the bone.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 16, 2016
That sounds…painful.
Eovaldi had gone 9-8 with a 4.76 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 21 starts for the Yankees this season. He is arbitration-eligible this winter and can become a free agent in 2018.
The Texas native already underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2008. For a pitcher who relies heavily on velocity (his average fastball speed this season was 97.0 miles per hour and topped out at 101.6 miles per hour, according to Fangraphs) and will now sidelined for the entirety of his contract year, it’s nothing short of a devastating blow for Eovaldi.
Image Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
