TAMPA, Fla. — When pitchers and catchers reported for spring training Friday, there were questions about the frayed right elbow of Masahiro Tanaka, the surgically repaired right knee of C. C. Sabathia and the expected return of Ivan Nova from elbow surgery by June. Then there is the frailty of Michael Pineda, who has been a revelation when he has not been on the disabled list, which is almost constantly.
That leaves one vacancy in the Yankees’ hoped-for rotation, a spot for someone whom Manager Joe Girardi can count on to take his turn all season. Enter the newly acquired Nathan Eovaldi, who threw one out shy of 200 innings for the Miami Marlins last season.
But if Eovaldi is not a question mark, he is a riddle.
How can someone with an upper-90-mile-per-hour fastball, who walked less than two batters per nine innings, give up a major-league-leading 223 hits?
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If he can provide the durability the Yankees need, and the improvement they hope for, they will be just as pleased.
A version of this article appears in print on February 22, 2015, on page SP3 of the New York edition with the headline: Eovaldi’s Untapped Potential Has the Yankees Dreaming of Big Things. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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