Ivan Nova Needs To Stay In New York Yankees' Rotation For Now

Ivan Nova was the clear loser for the New York Yankees‘ fifth rotation spot in spring training. Luis Severino strung together a few strong outings to close out the spring, and Nova looked like he was still coming back from Tommy John surgery. Severino got the rotation spot and Nova went to the bullpen.

After CC Sabathia injured his groin, Nova was thrust into the rotation and he has been nothing short of excellent in his three starts. He has won two of them and owns a 1.65 ERA since moving into the rotation. Despite that performance, Joe Girardi is noncommittal about keeping Nova in the rotation which is mind-boggling given how some of his other starters have fared this year.

You read that right. Girardi isn’t sure if he should keep Nova in the rotation when Sabathia returns tonight despite the struggles of Michael Pineda and Luis Severino. Right now, Severino is on the disabled list and his return is up in the air. Even if he is healthy, there is no guarantee he will be brought back to the MLB roster. He should be sent down to the minors to work out his control issues and gain confidence. It doesn’t make sense to keep him up to get shelled every five days. That is detrimental to the Yankees and Severino.

Then there is Pineda, the pitching piñata. He has been dreadful this year and owns a 6.60 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 4.95 FIP. He is allowing 12 hits per nine innings and 2.1 home runs per nine. It’s ugly. He might be in need of a minor league assignment to work on some things, because the Yankees can’t afford to keep starting him every five days either.

The Yankees are just 2-13 when Severino or Pineda pitches and 16-9 when someone else starts. Nova has held hitters to a .233 average, allowing 14 hits in 16.1 innings and striking out eight. He has allowed three home runs, but they’ve all been solo shots so they haven’t hurt. He has earned the chance to stay in the rotation. His curveball was dazzling at times against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night, as he allowed only one run in six innings on 62 pitches. Of Nova’s 15 non-strikeout outs, 12 came on groundballs. He is keeping the ball down and the hitters aren’t able to do much. The home run he surrendered to Josh Reddick on Thursday was a hanging curveball, but otherwise he was brilliant.

Given the state of the Yankees’ rotation, Nova deserves to start ahead of Severino and Pineda. The Yankees need Nova in the starting rotation right now as they try to climb out of the hole they currently find themselves in as one of the worst teams in baseball. This should be a no-brainer decision for Girardi, who should have said Nova has earned a spot in the rotation when he was asked. If the Yankees remove Nova from the rotation, then it is clear they aren’t trying to win this year.