The Red Sox moved on from closer Craig Kimbrel in the offseason, but they still haven’t replaced the potential Hall of Famer with a single game-ending stopper. Instead, the club has gotten multiple saves apiece from Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman during a 2019 season that hasn’t gone nearly as well as its 2018 World Series-winning campaign.
With the July 31 trade deadline coming up, the Red Sox are candidates to acquire an established closer for the stretch run, but it appears they’re primed to turn to a more unconventional in-house solution to succeed Kimbrel. They’re planning to use starter Nathan Eovaldi as their closer when he returns from the injured list, Tom Caron of NESN reports.
While the right-handed, hard-throwing Eovaldi was supposed to be a key part of Boston’s rotation this season, injuries have prevented that from happening. After Eovaldi came over in a 2018 trade with the Rays and helped the Red Sox to a title, they brought him back on a four-year, $68MM contract in the winter. Since then, though, the team has received just four starts and 21 innings of 6.00 ERA/7.10 FIP ball from him. Eovaldi underwent elbow surgery April 21 and then suffered a setback June 9 when it looked as if he was nearing a return.
Now, with just a couple months left in the season, the Red Sox seemingly believe they’d be better off deploying Eovaldi in short, game-ending stints than long outings upon his return. As Caron notes, they’d have the benefit of getting Eovaldi back sooner because he wouldn’t have to stretch out to slot back into their rotation. It’s still in question when exactly he’ll make his way back to the majors, however. Moreover, moving him to the bullpen wouldn’t solve the team’s issues at the back of its starting staff.
A full-time relief role is foreign to Eovaldi, who has made 152 of 160 major league appearances as a starter. The hope for the Red Sox is that the move would help stabilize an oft-maligned bullpen, a unit the hated Yankees humiliated over the weekend in London. The Yankees now hold an 11-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East, meaning Boston’s best hope to return to the playoffs may be via wild card. The Red Sox are two back of a spot, though, and with owner John Henry seemingly reluctant to spend on outside reinforcements, the club may be prepared to try its luck with Eovaldi in lieu of a bullpen market with plenty of proven commodities.
Kimbrel making $10,000,000
Eovaldi making $17,000,000
Kimbrel is making $10 million for a half season. $16 million next two
Yeah but remember Kimbril was asking 28… Chapman money before they signed Evoldi… Sox did not have that cap space
This is a good move for this year because I was hoping for Steven Wright as the closer as tough as that sounds. Enough of their 7th and 8th inning guys trying to close.
Getting paid for post season performance is not unheard of.
half the season helping getting them there as well and if that’s some kind of reference to sandoval.. Doubt have to worry about eovaldi showing up to ST so out of shape he busts a belt with his fat belly.
4/68m to Eovaldi over 5/105m to consistently out of shape sandoval any day for boston fans.
Sandoval seems to be in decent shape this year.
It was 5/95mm for Sandoval but whatever
His manager Is prolly doing his grocery shopping.
You need to take anouther look, he is way over weight
Nate deserves all he’s getting n more fir giving all of himself for the team.
When is Evol off the IL?
so they signed Eovaldi over kimbrel only to end up using him as a more expensive and likely less effective closer
They can move him back to starter next year.
Nope, he is a thrower not a pitcher. His power gun gets him strike outs but not for sustaining health and production for years.
He actually hasn’t been much of a strikeout pitcher in his career. He should probably throw the heater far less to both stay healthy and get more Ks.
Not if his arm keeps falling off. Been watching the guy since he was a Dodger. Great stuff and lots of ligament wear and tear.
Kimball would have been a disaster. .. he is deciding .. he showed it 2018
Less effective? Based on what? I like Kimbrel but not at what he was originally seeking. As I’ve said before, he was two pack 2.0. One great year out of three. Other two years he was not a top closer despite what the stats showed.
Omg I hope they don’t ruin his arm, although it maybe a way, like the EK, to bring greatness to himself. I just worry, this maybe a backlash from Henry belly aching about they will be fine if they all live up to what they can do. The blow-pens arms are ready to fall off they’ve been used so much. I’m a Nate fan n hope all goes well for him, n he’s on board with what they want.
The key is when he returns! As a Yankee fan, I remember waiting for him to recover. Too bad, the main reason for Boston’s season is losing Kimbrell IMHO.
It’s not just Kimbrel is all of the key players under performing, or maybe coming back to earth.
It’s almost completely unrelated to Kimbrel. The bullpen was solid for the first couple months while the rotation and position players struggled. JBJ was a zero for a long stretch, JD and Mookie have both been good but worse than last year, Sale struggled out of the gate. Anyone who thinks the Sox have struggled because we lost Kimbrel has been paying zero attention to the team so far.
You also have over performance though. This is what Henry is missing. Chavis will be solid, but he’s not a .300/.400/.550 masher that’s been put on display for stretches this season. He will be a .270/.360/.450 kind of hitter more then likely and that’s real solid. Bogaerts continues to become more consistent. Devers took a step forward in some big ways. This team is losing because they can’t figure out how to get through 1-9. It’s not all CK. That’s true. Even with CK we’d be blowing games in the 7th and 8th. We never acknowledged that this bullpen was a question mark going into last season, overperformed and there were still huge question marks. They got away with it last year because they had an elite closer and the fans were like whatever we can come back in the 9th and he can lock it down. Now the team comes back in the 8th or 9th just to see the lead surrendered again. It’s embarrassing.
It’s a big picture look at the bullpen. We can forgive that for Thornburg who has some history as an established reliever you can count on. Maybe he really was back. Same with Barnes. But the rest of this clown crew let’s up almost as many runs as they get outs for days at a time.
Eovaldis injury is the icing on the cake. If we had him right all season, the problems might be less apparent. But when you only are getting 4-5 innings after Porcello and Price a lot of games, you’re screwed.
“It’s almost completely unrelated to Kimbrel.”
The reason why teams win WSCs, and don’t repeat is because a lot of times, they play over their heads, and revert. They get a year older, they are worn out from the previous year’s chase, ofttimes they get more expensive.
Just taking last year’s WAR, and dividing by 2, Betts is -2.5, JDM -1.3, Sale -1.6, Beni -.8, Porcello -1.2, Price -0.2, ERod -0.4, Moreland/Pearce -2.0, Wright/Velasquez/Johnson (#6) -2.4.
I think it’s only Vazquez, Devers, and Bogaerts that have show any improvement.
It is entirely their lack of approach to spring training. They mailed in the spring bc they won it all last year and havent been right all year. A team with this much spent on starting pitching should be getting more from the rotation. That has meant wasted days on openers and asking too much from the bullpen or the pen would be fine. Also, this overreaction comes after 2 bad days in a really bad idea midseason series in London in a park that averages 20 runs per game.
Bullpen sucked last year until September when Kelly and Barnes finally put everything together. This year the team has not hit in the clutch. Add inconsistent pitching from Porcello and ERod and together you have a .500 team.
Its just a hangover season, too bad but they mailed it in during the spring.
I guess this means the FO thinks it’ll be easier to fill the 5th starter spot.
or they could just trade for a closer. I hear the BlueJays have a pretty good one available…
A 5th starter costs a lot less than a good closer. If Eovaldi’s a good closer….The contract is what it is at this point. It’s a lot cheaper to go out and get an Andrew Cashner (even w most of his salary eaten) then it is to get Will Smith.
The Red Sox have given up. Sad
perhaps dombrowski calls up his buddy big al and trades for shane greene.
Shane Greene would seem to be a low cost option at closer for the rest of the 2019 season.
Green is having a career year on a team that is rebuilding. The Tigers will definitely be sellers at the deadline, but the price will be high for an effective closer. It’s a sellers market.
Shouldn’t cost too much to get greene. Casas and maybe a middle prospect?
That’s still a lot to give up. Casas’ bat was one of the most sure things in the 2019 draft. I’m not sure the Sox can throw that away for a reliever. Fair trade or not doesn’t really matter on this one.
I don’t think there’s anyway in hell they fetch Casas for Greene. More likely Dalbec for Greene. Trader Dave might be the guy to overpay for a guy like Greene though.
Dalbec + Class A pitcher for Greene seems fair
“That’s still a lot to give up. Casas’ bat was one of the most sure things in the 2019 draft.”
I wouldn’t give up anyone. We’re 4th in a 4-team race for the final WC slot. 4 weeks from now, if we’ve made a move, into maybe the #1 WC slot, maybe I might try to improve.
But right now, I’m much more inclined to sell than to buy.
So does this mean if the Red Sox are buyers that they’d pursue a starter ?
They just got Wright back. There’s your 5th starter.
My thought is that guys coming off TJS or other major arm problems should spend at least 1/2 of a season in the bullpen so they can work on command and let them use their best pitches.
I’d rather him in the pen than Steven Wright for sure.
Anyone but Wright.
Whatever at this point.
I love this. A great fit. I also love everyone wanting the Sox to have given Kimberly crazy money and years. That’s what it would have taken. Every team passed on that only because of a draft pick? Too many red flags. Glad they re signed Nate. Pearce was the mistake. Not a lot of money, but when you have already over spent, every dollar counts. That money could have gone for pitching. Everyone wanted Eovaldi.
Totally agree should have spent more on pitching instead of Pearce.
BoSox only need a rental to be their closer. Will Smith of the Giants would be the perfect fit, and given the fact that he’s a FA at season’s end, shouldn’t cost the proverbial arm and a leg.
Before they can catch the Yankees, they first have to catch the Rays. Right now, a wild-card is their only ticket to the playoffs. DD should act quickly on this before the team is just another of several hovering around the .500 mark in September and hoping the cards fall their way.
You need to give something to get something and we don’t have much to give that we can afford to lose. The few pieces we have are critical to our future.
They could probably pick up Diaz if they were willing to take on the Bobby Bonilla contract…
good
Good
I knew this contract was going to be bad the minute he signed it. Saying that, this isn’t a terrible last resort to straighten out an atrocious bullpen. That money just could’ve been spent much more wisely.
Sox should just recall every pitcher at Pawtucket one by one to see if any of them can function as a closer.
They should have Eovaldi and Wright stand on the mound together and randomly choose one to throw the next pitch. (I’m sure that’s legal.)
I remember from the way back machine a game against the White Sox where Wilbur Wood knuckled for eight innings and Terry Forster pitched the ninth. In his pre-tub of goo days, Forster threw close to 100.
The other night Cubs were way behind so they brought in Kimberly and he promptly gave up a solo homer to first batter.
1-I like the move, but it is no panacea. Instead of a donut in the closer slot, we have a donut in the 5-slot.
2-I wouldn’t be inclined to trading prospects away. Very few things work out worse than trying to chase the 2nd WC slot, alongside 3 other teams.
June 4, 2016-The WS were 8th in the AL, alongside half the league. They traded some kid named Tatis for Shields. Shields went 4-12 the rest of the way. The WS missed the playoffs by 11 games. Tatis now rests comfortably atop my rotisserie team.
This happens every year. It’s one thing to go for the Gold when you are in 1st. But we could add Scherzer at this point, and he wouldn’t even guarantee a WC spot.
So much for pitch counts saving arms.
Lol
Dave Dombrowski, Alex Cora and his coaching staff has got to feel like the kid that drove Dad’s Rolls Royce into the garage.
The Red Sox never were even in it at any point this year.
We Red Sox fans kept thinking during April that they would turn it around in May.
We sat in disbelief as the teams best hitters are Bogarts, Devers, Vaszquez and yes a rookie Chavis.
The pitching never showed up.
Then we watched the Red Sox score 21 runs in London. Too bad the NYY scored 29 !!!!
WOW !!!!!!! 29 runs. 50 total runs by both teams combined in 2 … yes 2 games.
We thought we were watching the Patriots play the Jets with a score like that.
And now we hear we’re not spending any more money.
We’ve given up even on the long shot of a “Wild Card”.
“It’s not a luxury tax issue, it’s a question of how much money do we want to lose,” “If we play up to our capabilities we will easily make the playoffs. That’s how I see it,” John Henry said.
So it begs the question where the buck stops?
Who takes responsibility for this fiasco?
Do the fans get a rebate for buying tickets for a rotten performance?
Do the players feel compelled to refund their salaries?
Dream on …. LOL
And it doesn’t stop with the Red Sox.
I recall Tony Clark of MLB Players association lamenting that something was amiss because neither Bryce Harper nor Manny Machado had been signed by late in spring training. Now we see neither player made the All Star team after getting huge contracts.
And neither Philly nor SD appear to be any closer to a playoff berth than Boston.
What’s even weirder is that Tampa has a payroll 25% of Boston’s and yet they have a better record but their stands are always less than 1/2 full and there is talk of splitting their season with 1/2 the year being played in Montreal?
What’s worse young people are turning away from the sport of baseball. I see many many more young kids playing basketball than baseball.
But yet “Launch Angle”, Pitch Velocity, Spin Rate and Home Run Distance are what fans are obsessed with of late.
And soon we’ll have robots calling balls and strikes.
Maybe we should make robot baseball players next . . LOL
Everyone else’s job has been automated away. Why not?
Pretty soon we’ll have robots watching robots on TV on their androids.
LOL
The Red Sox should be looking to move either Nunez or Holt… They do not need both with Chavis and Marco Hernandez and with Moreland Coming back. They can use either of them along with Pierce off the Major League roster to get a starter. They should take a hard look at Aaron Sanchez who is having a bad season— buy low…. and use him as a reliever. Sam Travis with a Chance to play everyday for a team like the Tigers would hit .280 with 20 HR’s….. he could net a Shane Greene or Joe Jimenez in package with Sox throwing in another Minor League arm.