The New York Yankees enter the 2015 season with a lot of confidence intheir pitching rotation. The team held back during the offseason and opted not to chase the big names like Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields with top-dollar deals. Instead they are hoping that several players return healthy to the rotation and the Yankees can tap into their depth to get them through the season.
With training camp officially underway, all eyes are on the arm of Masahiro Tanaka. The Japanese pitcher was the big get for the Yankees last season and while he saw a great deal of success at the start of the season, an elbow injury kept him from reaching his true potential. However, after throwing 35 pitches in a second bullpen session, Tanaka is stressing that all is good and he feels great.
"It's absolutely good. The number one thing is, I'm throwing a little bit harder than last time. I was able to do that with ease, that's the biggest difference," Tanaka said, via ESPN.com.
Tanaka missed the final two months of the season last year with a partially torn UCL. He ended with a 13-5 record and a 2.77 ERA. The Yankees are holding out hope that he avoids having to undergo Tommy John surgery. For now, general manager Brian Cashman told the media that he has confidence in Tanaka which is preventing the team from eyeing any other pitchers on the trade market in free agency.
New York continues to get linked to trades for players like Cole Hamels and Jordan Zimmermann who are both available for the right price. The Philadelphia Phillies continue to dangle Hamels on the open market even as he reports to training camp. Zimmermann is in the same boat as the Washington Nationals boosted their rotation in the offseason. The health of players like Tanaka and CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova will be monitored carefully before the Yankees pull the trigger on a trade.
Another pitcher carrying high hopes into training camp is Nathan Eovaldi who is now a starter after the Yankees did not make any roster additions. Manager Joe Girardi is confidence that Eovaldi can get past his low numbers and productive for the Yankees.
"This is a guy that threw 200 innings last year, and it's a power arm, and we're extremely excited about the potential that he brings to our rotation," Girardi said.
