Yankees Ownership Doesn’t Want to Move Pineda or Eovaldi

Although the New York Yankees are reportedly certain to move Ivan Nova before the trade deadline, ownership is reluctant to trade Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda.

Yankees ownership continues to hold tight to the team’s slim playoff hopes (7.3% on Saturday according to FanGraphs) and resist GM Brian Cashman’s attempts to sell off veteran assets.

As of this writing, the New York Yankees are six games out in the AL East and 4.5 games out of the second Wild Card. That may not sound insurmountable, but the deck is very much stacked against them with the red-hot Astros, Red Sox, and Tigers in front of them and several other clubs right on their heels.

The best case scenario might be another one game playoff against Houston, and we all know how well that went last year.

More from Yankees News

• What does Carlos Rodón’s new jersey number mean for Domingo Germán?
• Red Sox living in different financial ‘galaxy’ than Yankees Killer Rafael Devers
• Yankees slice surprising fan favorite off roster to make room for Tommy Kahnle
• Yankees announce corresponding move, make Carlos Rodón signing official
• Aaron Judge puts more pressure on Yankees after being named Captain

Despite these long odds, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine have been very vocal about not breaking up this limping group of overpaid former stars.

They allowed Cash to trade Aroldis Chapman for an amazing haul and have given the green light to deal fellow impending free agent Ivan Nova, but remain unwilling to dive head-first into rebuilding.

Rival executives have told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that despite a lot of reported interest from other clubs and the inflated price for pitching on the market this month, Hal will not give the green-light to deal starting pitchers Michael Pineda or Nathan Eovaldi.

Both starters will be free agents after the 2017 season, so it makes sense for the Yankees to at least listen to offers. Pineda and Eovaldi have flashed tantalizing upside during their time in pinstripes, but neither have fulfilled their promise (yet) as potential front-line starters.

A combination of injuries and inconsistency makes extending the contracts of one or both a risky proposition. Eovaldi has a 4.80 ERA in 110.2 IP this year and was recently demoted to the bullpen things had gotten so bad. Pineda has had a similarly turbulent 2016 campaign, pitching to a 5.00 ERA in 113.1 IP.

If they were made available, the Cubs, Pirates, and Rangers are all known to have interest in Nasty Nate, while the Rangers and Marlins have made overtures about Big Mike.

Next: Yankees Trade Target: Lucas Giolito

On the other hand, a complete tear-down isn’t really necessary if Hal Steinbrenner is willing to invest in the team’s present this winter and make a push for 2017. Eovaldi and Pineda may be more valuable to the Yankees next year than anything that they could get in return for them now.

What Hal does need to do is decide on a direction for this club with his baseball operations team and stick to it. They either need to actually try and win now or rebuild. Being stuck in between every year, just on the edge of the Wild Card race, is not the way to win championships.