4:35PM: The Cardinals, Phillies, and Twins are all interested in Hill, as per WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.
1:24PM: Most of the talk regarding the Red Sox in recent days has centered on designated hitter J.D. Martinez and the since-traded Christian Vazquez, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that the Sox are open to dealing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, though they’re not planning to simply take the best offer presented for him. Boston is, after all, still on the periphery of the Wild Card race — and Eovaldi represents a potential qualifying offer candidate. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that lefty Rich Hill is “almost certainly in play” as well.
Eovaldi stands as one of the higher-profile names on the rental market. However, he’s a fairly pricey option, earning $17MM this season (with just over $6MM of that sum yet to be paid out), and has had some struggles since a June trip to the injured list. A back injury sidelined Eovaldi for a month, from June 12 through July 15, and the right-hander was torched for 16 earned runs in his first three starts upon returning — a total of just 13 innings.
Eovaldi held a potent Astros lineup scoreless through 6 1/3 frames last night, which may ease some concerns, but the right-hander’s fastball velocity has been down since sustaining that back injury. After averaging 96.9 mph on his heater from Opening Day through June 3, Eovaldi has an average of 94.5 mph on the pitch in his past five appearances — including a 94.3 mph average last night.
It bears emphasizing that even with the recent struggles, Eovaldi is sporting a respectable 4.11 ERA with a roughly average 23.1% strikeout rate, a brilliant 4.3% walk rate and an above-average 47.8% grounder rate. Interested parties will surely place a premium, to some extent, on the right-hander’s considerable postseason resume as well. Eovaldi was an absolute juggernaut in the 2018 playoffs, propelling the Red Sox to a World Series victory with 22 1/3 innings of 1.61 ERA ball. He stumbled in the 2021 ALCS against the Astros, but Eovaldi nonetheless has a career 3.14 ERA and 41-to-8 K/BB ratio in 43 postseason frames.
As for the veteran Hill, he’s playing on a one-year, $5MM deal with some incentives that could reasonably boost the contract by another $500K to $1MM. Hill’s incentives package kicks in at 110 innings pitched, and he’s currently at 70 2/3 frames on the year. In that time, he’s pitched to a 4.20 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s averaging under five innings per start, so it’s unlikely he reaches the 150- and 160-innings thresholds at which his most lucrative bonuses are slated to kick in, but he stands a decent chance of upping that salary a bit if he can remain healthy.
Saint Louie here im guessing
Hosmer to Boston per MLB Network
Hope not.
Please no. I hope you are kidding us right now.
Oh Gawd, you weren’t kidding….
Waiting to hear how it’s structured. I suspect this is a further sign that JD Martinez is gone.
Free for the Red Sox. Padres picking up all $46M owed.
“Boston is, after all, still on the periphery of the Wild Card race.” Yes, they’re clearly gunning for it now. Hosmer is the missing piece.
Well definitely an upgrade.
true, which is a pretty big indictment on our first basemen this year
Kinda screams St. Louis
Hosmer to Boston. Just reported on MLB Network
What’s next hosmer to boston
Hosmer to Boston.
Boston about as lost as the Rockies are rn
Not when we get him for two years at a minimum value.
Rich Hill to the cardinals is so St. Louis
good lord I hope not, but you’re right. sounds like Mo. I’d like to see Eovaldi in St. Louis though.
For real though. I hope not either one of these. But this does has Mo written all over it. For all the obvious reasons.
Chaim Bloom is doing a massive brake torque. Adding, subtracting, spending, selling, retaining, building, etc.
What a joke. Make a decision ya noobs.
To not trade Bogaerts makes 0% sense.
Maybe he’s freeing money to pony up a contract this off-season. Getting Hosmer for basically free can help with that. If this isn’t the case, then I agree with you.
I agree Bogaerts should of been traded. Boston does however have a direction, Chaim Bloom has us going in a direction fans just don’t see. Let me break it down.
1. Renfroe for JBJ and prospects: JBJ is widely considered one of the elite defensive outfielders in baseball. Bloom thought he’d hit just enough to justify the defense
2. Trevor Story: A defensive upgrade over Xander Bogaerts and could potentially get as much WAR as Xander cheaper.
3. Trading Vazquez and getting McGuire: McGuire is supposed to be a really good defensive catcher that does hit enough to do the job and was much cheaper than Vazquez
4. Eric Hosmer: Former gold glover and is better than the king of strikeouts Bobby Dalbec and the king of errors in Franchy Cordero in his sleep. It’s an indictment but, he is pretty much free
5. Tommy Pham: JBJ can’t hit himself out a paper bag and offensively is dead weight. He’s an expensive defensive replacement player these days.
Boston’s rebuild on the fly has been about defense. The re-signing of Danny Santana a utility man who can’t hit further demonstrates Bloom values the glove more than the bat.
LOL
Hosmer to Boston
Have to think the price for Eovaldi went up now with the Hosmer acquisition.
What do you mean?
I’m hoping for one high upside prospect for Eovaldi and another for Martinez. They added a couple solid bench guys in the trade with Houston.
This guy screams when he pitches. True gamer though.
Hate to see Nate leave Boston; he’s been a warrior for them. If they get the right prospect package I guess it makes sense but he would still be missed here in Boston. I wouldn’t mind seeing a 2 year extension on him.
The cardinals shifting form Juan Soto to Rich Hill is straight up awesome
Still surprised at what a poor return the Tigers got for JD Martinez. And really surprised that no one has traded for him yet. I think he’s a great hitter.
Please Please Please John Henry get rid of this small market GM who is running a big league club. The Vazquez trade was puzzling. You trade a good catcher for two prospects and you do not expect this to peeve off Boggarts? Are you kidding me. You really think Boggarts is going to want to stay after you traded his friend away and low balled him with a below market extension. You pick up a catcher that gets caught masturbating in a parking lot. He cannot hit anything. Come on Bloom!!! Go back to Tampa please!!!
John Henry get a Big Market GM.
Trading Vazquez was part of cutting cost, Pham if he doesn’t screw up between now and then will have JBJ’s spot. JBJ’s splits were so bad his defense did not offset it. Hosmer is a huge upgrade over Dalbec and Cordero and he’s free so they are as good as gone in the off-season at least one of them. This also means Triston Casas might be a bust in management’s eyes, preferring to grab Hosmer over giving him a long look. Every move almost that Bloom has made from not resigning Kyle Schwarber to the trades yesterday with a couple exceptions has been about defense. Defense, Pitching, then hitting in that order is how the team is being evaluated. That’s why Devers hasn’t been extended, if they can replace his WAR with a more defensive 3rd baseman and so cheaper he will. Hitting clearly in Bloom’s eyes is overvalued.
What a strange deadline for Boston. Did not move JDM or Eovaldi, but they move Vazquez and Diekman, then give up Jay Groome for Eric Hosmer and acquire Tommy Pham too? What exactly are they trying to do here?
Not trading at least Martinez is a missed opportunity. I’m less concerned about the others as I am with this. We needed to sell at least partially and now we have a logjam at 1b and the outfield. It feels like Bloom went halfway but didn’t finish the job.
We gave up Groome, but got Rosier and Ferguson, and neither of them are throw-aways.
So true! They did listen
reading this made me sick, you had 3 TEAMS say no to 2 pitchers that they know are hurt, good for them, pathetic that bostons in this position, still, seeing ST louis or the mets take jd, rich hill and evoldi would have made more sense, think about it, the 3 of them were basically told’ nobody else wants you even know were trying to trade you so your stuck here for the next 2 months’ good for christian, i hope he ran to the astros clubhouse
groome was nothing more than a fat borderline pitcher whos been ‘ on the cusp’ for 3 years, in 2019 he was going into AAA yet, hes still their in 2022? he was never gonna be that good, even management said for years hes been stuck. You dont sign a guy at the draft then leave him in the minors for 6 years
i agree, JD should not still be here, i was 100% they would have traded him to the mets
but he also plays no position, so his value is pretty limited
as far as bloom goes, just wait till the ratings and sales all collapse and die, he will be GONE, if the team looses money, he will be fired, that will be the only way
jds no longer a ‘ great’ hitter, hes good, but his powers diminished