Ivan Nova to Replace Sabathia in the Yankee Rotation

With CC Sabathia expected to miss approximately three weeks because of a left groin strain, the Yankees have announced that Ivan Nova will take his place in the rotation. Nova’s first start of the season is scheduled for Monday at 7:05 against the Kansas City Royals. Nova has served as the team’s long reliever in the early going and has been seen as the obvious for the sixth starter when the need arose. He is expected to only be stretched out to throw roughly 75 pitches in Monday’s start.

The news is especially disappointing for Sabathia coming off of perhaps his best start of the season, which was seven shutout innings in which he struck out six to lead New York to a 7-0 victory over Baltimore. As much as CC has declined since his prime, the loss is still a big one for the Yankees. He has the second lowest ERA and FIP in the rotation this year and has been a solid contributor since donning a new knee brace down the stretch in 2015. Through his first five starts, he has a 3.81 ERA and 3.54 FIP in 28.1 IP.

It is impossible to tell what to expect from Nova when he takes the mound Monday. One of the more enigmatic pitchers in recent memory for the team, he’s ping-ponged between mid-rotation fixture and complete disaster, often playing both roles in any given season. He is now two full years removed from the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for much of the 2014 and 2015 seasons, so it’s reasonable to expect him to return to something resembling his old form if given the chance.

Nova’s last successful season was 2013, when he pitched to a 3.10 ERA in 139.1 IP, good for 2.5 fWAR. While that may be a little ambitious, he certainly has the ability to contribute as a back of the rotation guy. ZiPS expects a 4.46 ERA in 89 innings and 0.9 fWAR in 2016, but the ceiling is considerably higher than that. Lefty reliever and member of the 2009 championship squad was promoted from Triple-A Scranton to take Nova’s vacated bullpen spot.