TAMPA — Michael Pineda had just turned 23 when the Yankees surrendered one of their top prospects, Jesus Montero, to get the young right-hander in pinstripes.
Pineda was coming off a solid rookie season in Seattle and the Yankees were intrigued by his size and the fact he could throw hard.
Three years — and too many injuries to count — later, they’re still waiting for Pineda to develop into the pitcher they had hoped to get.
Their next experiment begins this season, with Nathan Eovaldi already in camp and the Yankees attempting to turn an unpolished hard-thrower into something more.
Eovaldi, who was a main part of the trade that sent Martin Prado and David Phelps to Miami in December, has impressed with his arm strength — but little else.
He pitched a career-high 199 ²/₃ innings last season, but gave up a league-high 223 hits and had a 4.37 ERA in the relatively pitcher-friendly NL East.
“I had ups and downs,” Eovaldi said Wednesday at the Yankees’ minor league complex when asked to evaluate his 2014 season. “I accomplished a lot that I wanted to. I stayed healthy and got a lot of innings under my belt. I controlled my walks, but my ERA was a lot higher than I’d like it to have been. And I gave up too many hits.”
Eovaldi will turn 25 on Friday, which is one of the reasons the Yankees were intrigued by him. Their rotation proved fragile last season, with CC Sabathia limited to eight games by a knee injury. The health woes weren’t limited to veteran pitchers, either, as both Masahiro Tanaka and Ivan Nova went down with elbow problems.
So there’s hardly a guarantee Eovaldi can duplicate his durability from a year ago, but if he does, the Yankees would like to harness his talent into becoming a better pitcher.
His ERA was significantly higher at home last season than on the road (4.66 to 4.06), which is somewhat surprising considering Marlins Park is typically considered a pitcher’s park. And despite the fact he can flirt with 100 mph on the radar gun, he struck out just 142 batters.
He already has begun working with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Eovaldi said his primary focus will be to work on his off-speed pitches.
A trade to the Yankees helped turn around Brandon McCarthy’s career last season, when after a horrendous season and a half with Arizona, he produced almost immediately with the Yankees thanks to the reintroduction of his cutter.
Eovaldi doesn’t have McCarthy’s résumé, but the Yankees are willing to take another chance.
Eovaldi will also have to contend with the attention that comes with pitching in New York instead of with the much-quieter Marlins.
“I know the fans are either gonna love you or hate you,” Eovaldi said. “It depends on how you do, how you perform … Every game means something.”
At least the Yankees hope it will. And Eovaldi hopes to be a part of it.
“They’re [developing] and getting a lot more younger guys,” Eovaldi said. “There’s still a lot of experience here and a lot to learn.”