Yankees' Nova To Have Tommy John Surgery On Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Ivan Nova is no longer an option for the Yankees in 2014.
The team announced on Thursday that the 27-year-old right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, effectively ending his season and calling into question when he can return in 2015.
The procedure will be performed by noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews down in Birmingham, Ala.
Nova was seen shaking his right arm during Saturday night's 16-1 loss to the Rays in Tampa. He left after allowing eight earned runs in just four innings. The next day he was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a similar injury to the one suffered by the Mets' Matt Harvey last season that ultimately ended with him opting for Tommy John surgery.
Nova made four starts this season before going down and just didn't look right. He went 2-2 with an 8.27 ERA and when he was bad he was very bad. He struggled with his velocity and didn't have consistent bite on his breaking pitches.
Left-hander Vidal Nuno replaced Nova in the rotation and tossed five shutout innings in the Yankees' 5-1, 12-inning win over the Rays on Sunday.
As a result of Nova's injury, the Yankees made several moves. They recalled right-handers Bruce Billings and Shane Greene and optioned infielder Dean Anna and reliever Preston Claiborne to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Nova was also transferred to the 60-day DL.
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