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Joe Smith Undergoes Surgery For Torn Achilles Tendon

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The Astros announced today that righty Joe Smith has undergone surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left leg. (H/t Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, via Twitter.) It will sideline him for an estimated six-to-eight month stretch, putting a large chunk of his 2019 season in jeopardy.

Needless to say, that’s most unwelcome news for both player and team. Smith, 34, is said to have suffered the injury in a recent workout. The 34-year-old is slated to earn $8MM for the 2019 campaign, his second in Houston since signing a two-year deal last winter.

Smith, a crafty sidearmer who has held opposing right-handed batters to an anemic .215/.280/.311 batting line over his dozen MLB campaigns, would surely have been a part of the ’Stros pen again in 2019. Last year, he worked to a 3.74 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He was tough to square up, as usual, but did allow nearly 1.4 homers per nine — about twice his career average.

Of course, it’s only fair to note that the organization will have a bevy of alternatives, particularly if it makes some rotation additions that bump other players into relief contention. Smith, in fact, was not much of a factor in the club’s postseason mix, cracking the roster but making just one appearance (which did not go well). Still, he’s a quality veteran performer and it always hurts to carry a salary commitment that doesn’t provide production. The Astros will have to hope that Smith is able to recover relatively quickly and provide a mid-season boost.

Astros Sign Michael Brantley

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DECEMBER 19: The deal is now official.

Brantley will receive a $2MM signing bonus and $15MM salaries in each year of the deal, per Rosenthal (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 17, 6:01pm: The terms have been agreed to, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that the deal will not come with any options.

5:48pm: The Astros are “closing in” on a deal with veteran outfielder Michael Brantley, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s expected to promise Brantley something in the range of two years and $32MM if completed, per the report.

Entering the offseason, MLBTR graded Brantley the tenth-best free agent on the market. We predicted both he and Andrew McCutchen would secure three-year deals at $15MM average annual values. If today’s rumored pact goes through, though, McCutchen will have topped Brantley handily with his own three-year, $50MM agreement with the Phillies.

For the ’Stros, this signing would deliver another veteran, left-handed-hitting corner outfield to a mix that already includes Josh Reddick. Both Brantley and Reddick are best with the platoon advantage, as is younger lefty-swinging outfielder Tony Kemp, which will make it interesting to see how the remainder of the roster is structured.

Brantley is certainly a polished offensive piece. The 31-year-old slashed .309/.364/.468 last year and is among the game’s best pure hitters, as reflected in his lifetime .295 batting average. He’s good for fifteen to twenty long balls annually, which is useful but hardly elite for a corner outfielder, but makes up for any shortcomings in that regard by rarely striking out (10.7% career K rate).

It certainly doesn’t hurt, either, that Brantley contributes in the running game. He swiped a dozen bags last year and has typically graded out as an above-average to excellent overall baserunner. In the field, Brantley has mostly drawn average marks for his work in left field.

The largest demerit, clearly, involves health. Brantley was limited significantly in 2016 and 2017 owing to a string of injuries and related surgeries. That, perhaps, is the most significant point of distinction between Brantley and McCutchen.

Even if the Houston club has its qualms about Brantley’s health outlook, it’ll have more flexibility than its peers to keep him rested and make the most of his skillset.  Brantley can spend time at DH and perhaps even at first base, with the right-handed-hitting Yuli Gurriel potentially operating in a similar fashion but as a right-handed hitter.

The broader slate of Houston stars definitely hues right-handed, so it’s not as if there’s an over-abundance of lefty bats generally. Still, as hinted above, this acquisition poses some interesting questions regarding the outfield mix, in particular. Brantley, Reddick, and Kemp aren’t the only pieces to consider, after all. In terms of righty bats, George Springer will continue to get regular time while Jake Marisnick could work as a platoon piece.

That works well enough on its own, particularly if we assume Brantley will see action in other areas, but leaves two players (both left-handed hitters) unaccounted for. 25-year-old Derek Fisher struggled badly last year in the majors, but is still an intriguing talent. And Kyle Tucker is widely viewed as one of the better all-around prospects in baseball. The 21-year-old had a forgettable first attempt at the big leagues, but laid waste to Triple-A pitching in 2018 and could well be a major factor next season.

It’s tough to know exactly how this’ll all shake out. For now, suffice to say, the Astros still have plenty of options. It’s not hard to imagine another significant bat fitting on the roster. And it’s also not difficult to picture a trade — whether a blockbuster or one of lesser significance — that’d make use of the backlog of lefty outfield bats.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Market Notes: Ross, Harper, Phillies, Realmuto, Minor

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Long-time backstop David Ross has agreed to a new, multi-year deal to continue working as an analyst with ESPN. That news would seem to eliminate him from contention as a possible Cubs bench coach target, which is no surprise given recent indications. It would also appear to suggest that Ross won’t be looking to move into a dugout in the near future, though he’ll no doubt remain a popular candidate for significant gigs every time there’s an opening.

Let’s check in on the latest market notes …

  • The Dodgers’ interest in star free agent Bryce Harper remains a storyline to watch. The Los Angeles club doesn’t seem inclined to tantalize Harper with a record-setting overall guarantee, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggests (subscription link). Rather, the club would be more interested in a shorter-term pact with a “high” average annual value and multiple opt-out clauses along the way. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez heard largely the same late last week, while adding a few intriguing additional details. Harper “badly wants to be a Dodger,” says Gonzalez, but would have to sacrifice years and dollars in order to make that dream a reality. That also meshes with a recent report from ESPN’s Buster Olney, wherein Olney suggested that a front-loaded deal with a huge annual value could be the most appealing scenario to Los Angeles. Details are understandably sparse at this point, but generally, it stands to reason that if Harper and agent Scott Boras were to consider anything shy of a record-setting contract in terms of overall value and/or length, they’d likely need to establish a new high-water mark in terms of AAV by a considerable margin. That doesn’t seem like something that Harper’s camp would consider until a ways down the line, however, as Boras & Co. are quite likely still locked in on a longer-term mega-deal. The timeline for Harper’s signing remains unclear at the moment.
  • Harper and Manny Machado will continue to fascinate until they sign, but with both still holding in-person meetings it could take a while for that to come together. What that may mean for the Phillies is worth pondering, as the organization has its sights set on significant improvements in multiple areas. Club president Andy MacPhail says there’s still ongoing interest in both stars, but also notes “there are a lot of different ways to improve,” as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Citing a need to “give yourself enough latitude to deal with each offseason as it comes,” MacPhail certainly struck a somewhat different tone than owner John Middleton did recently. In part, he sought to emphasize the more restrained elements of Middleton’s comments — particularly, those indicating that the club does not feel it must land Harper and/or Machado to have had a productive offseason.
  • The Astros are “back in the mix” for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). It’s fair to wonder whether the Houston club was ever really fully out of the hunt. The club did add Robinson Chirinos and still has Max Stassi on hand, but that combination surely isn’t sufficient to sap the ’Stros’ interest in the top catcher in the game. Perhaps it’s not out of the question that the club would consider carrying three catchers if they swing a blockbuster, with Realmuto perhaps representing an option in the DH/first base mix and Chirinos also providing a potent bench bat against left-handed pitching (.258/.353/.485 career slash). Whatever the plan would be, the Astros first need to land Realmuto. As Frisaro hints, the club’s reported deal with Michael Brantley could be seen as an indication that top prospect Kyle Tucker — who’d surely be of keen interest to the Fish — might just be available. Of course, as Frisaro also notes, a variety of other teams remain in pursuit of Realmuto at this stage.
  • The Brewers nearly struck a deal with the Rangers for Mike Minor, Rosenthal further reports (subscription link), though it’s largely unclear what shape such an agreement would have taken and whether talks are still open. For Milwaukee, the connection makes clear that boosting the pitching mix remains a goal of the offseason. The organization has quite a few solid pieces in place, many of which could be utilized as needed in the rotation, in the bullpen, or as minor-league depth. Minor would certainly fit that general mold, as he has shown the ability to function as a high-quality reliever or solid back-of-the-rotation starter in recent years. It’s notable that the Texas org seems to be batting around multiple trade scenarios on the lefty, even in a winter in which they have taken further risks on other veteran hurlers.

MLBTR Poll: Andrew McCutchen / Michael Brantley Contracts

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As the MLBTR team put together this year’s ranking of the top fifty free agents, it became clear that there were a few bunchings of multiple players in similar market positions. That’s apparent most obviously at the top, where Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are both trying to push the bounds of what a 26-year-old star can earn (albeit at different positions), and in the sub-elite tier of the relief market, where there are a variety of very good pitchers who possess at least one or two obvious limitations on value.

It may be, though, that the tightest race between any two players — at least, in terms of ink spilled in relation to the level of contract we were debating — was between Andrew McCutchen and Michael Brantley. Proof? Tim Dierkes wrote Steve Adams and me an email on October 25th entitled, “Brantley vs Cutch revisited.”

In such situations, at some point, you’re forced to pick between the players — unless you take the easy way out (as I often do in our summer trade ranking list!) by grouping multiple players at one spot. Since Tim is made of sterner stuff than I, he was determined to put one ahead of the other — even if they ended up at the same predicted contract, as ultimately proved to be the case. I thought it’d be interesting to look back at some of our lengthy debate on the topic, and use it as a jumping-off point for a poll now that we’ve seen both players agree to deals.

It was something of an upset that Tim decided to place Brantley first. After all, he led off that aforementioned email with a series of power arguments that’d make Cutch’s agents blush: McCutchen has more power, doesn’t have platoon issues, “is indestructible,” and is a more versatile defender. Pop, offensive balance, durability, flexibility … seemed like a closed case.

Of course, there are counter-arguments in favor of Brantley, and Steve was happy to provide them in exhaustive detail. He summed up the main thrust of his viewpoint thusly: “Even if you look at their last three seasons, the only thing Cutch has on Brantley is volume of games played. Brantley has been a better hitter (same wRC+, but I’ll take the one that comes with a .300 average and half the strikeout rate) and a wildly better baserunner and defender.” With a slight age advantage to boot, there was quite a bit to like about Brantley.

It was a lively debate — and one that I was glad mostly to sit out while making observations that would keep me in the good graces of both of the warring MLBTR factions. Pro-Brantley: “He doesn’t walk. But he has super-elite contact ability that has allowed him to be a steadily outstanding producer of OBP.” Pro-Cutch: “.360+ OBP the past two years and still above-average power (which might play up in a smaller park). Plate discipline is as good as ever. Durability is a very fair point as well. Lack of platoon splits is nice.”

Ultimately, we predicted three-year, $45MM deals for both players. But that’s not how it has turned out. McCutchen secured a surprisingly hefty $50MM guarantee from the Phillies, who’ll bank on him as a steady and reliable (if not literally “indestructible”) asset for at least the next three seasons. That left us feeling optimistic about Brantley’s market, but word emerged this evening that he will not secure a third guaranteed season, reportedly agreeing to a two-year, $32MM-ish deal with the Astros. Though Houston wants to get the bat in the lineup as much as possible, it wasn’t forced to take on extra injury risk with another promised campaign in order to lure Brantley.

All that being said … how do you view the predictions and signings? (Response order randomized; poll link for app users.)

AL Rumors: Harper, Machado, ChiSox, Yanks, Tulo, Astros, Reddick

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A quick trip around the American League…

  • Free-agent superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado may be primed to sign record-setting contracts this offseason, but it doesn’t appear either will get such a deal from the White Sox or Yankees. While the White Sox are known to be in the running for both players, their pursuit is less “frenzied” than it is “measured and modest,” writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required), who hears they’re not prepared to ink either Harper or Machado to a record pact. The Yankees, meanwhile, have been more connected to Machado than Harper. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees’ interest in Machado is legitimate, but it’s not so ardent that they’re willing to hand him a 10-year, $300MM deal.
  • If the Yankees don’t sign Machado, they’ll need an infielder to replace shortstop Didi Gregorius, who will miss most or all of next season as a result of Tommy John surgery. With that in mind, they’ll “monitor” free agent Troy Tulowitzki’s market, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe relays. There are six teams in contention for the injury-prone, once-great Tulowitzki, whom the Blue Jays released this week at a cost of $38MM, though it’s unclear whether the Yankees are among them. The career-long shortstop, 34, would likely play second base in New York, given the presence of younger and better middle infielder Gleyber Torres.
  • The Astros are mulling adding two hitters and are “open” to trading outfielder Josh Reddick, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). However, the likelihood is that the Astros will only acquire one hitter, per Rosenthal, who adds that they haven’t had much luck trying to move Reddick this offseason. Not only is the 33-year-old Reddick coming off an unspectacular season in which he hit .242/.318/.400 (99 wRC+) with 1.1 fWAR in 487 plate appearances, but he’s due $26MM through 2020.

AL Notes: A’s, Tulo, Lowrie, Astros, BoSox, O’s

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The latest on a few American League clubs…

  • The Athletics have come up as a speculative fit for free-agent shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but the two sides haven’t spoken to this point, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. If signed, Tulowitzki could be a factor at the keystone for Oakland, which may see starting second baseman Jed Lowrie depart in free agency. As of now, it appears “unlikely” the Athletics will re-sign Lowrie, Jane Lee of MLB.com writes. Lowrie would be a tough loss for the A’s, considering he was one of the majors’ most valuable second basemen from 2017-18.
  • Meanwhile, despite potentially losing Tony Sipp in free agency, the division-rival Astros aren’t likely to shop at the top of the market for left-handed relievers, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription required). Rather, the Astros seem “comfortable” with a pair of in-house southpaws – Framber Valdez and Cionel Perez – as well as a cast of righty relievers who are capable of getting lefty hitters out. It’s not clear whether Brad Peacock will remain among that group of righties in 2019, though, as Kaplan relays that he’ll enter spring training as a starter. Peacock made 21 starts two years ago, but that number plummeted to one in 2018, when he came out of the Astros’ bullpen 60 times.
  • The Red Sox lost Joe Kelly to the Dodgers in free agency and are also in danger of bidding adieu to Craig Kimbrel, but it doesn’t seem they’re urgently searching for relief help. Instead, the reigning World Series champions are planning to “wait out” the market until a reliever falls to them for a palatable cost, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports. That makes it seem even less likely they’ll re-sign Kimbrel, whose reported asking price is exorbitant, though Drellich hasn’t closed the door on the two sides continuing their union.
  • Although they’re in a rebuild, the Orioles are “open to taking on a salary” in order to acquire outfield help, according to Joe Trezza of MLB.com. The O’s sought outfielders throughout the Winter Meetings, Trezza adds. With 0.1 fWAR, the team’s outfield finished 29th in the majors in that department last season, and its best regular – Adam Jones, who was below average in his own right – is now a free agent.

Latest On J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn

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7:41pm: Both Happ and former teammate Lance Lynn are “engaged with” the Astros, Yankees, Reds, Rangers and Blue Jays, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. Happ’s also continuing to draw the attention of the Phillies, while Lynn has received interest from the White Sox, according to Feinsand.

9:53am: It has seemed for the past few days that veteran lefty J.A. Happ could be the next domino to fall in the starting pitching market, and there are signs this morning that talks are advancing. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Happ’s market is “heating up,” while Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter that Happ is sitting on multiple two-year offers.

The key question remains whether Happ will secure a guaranteed third season. Passan says that he has yet to receive such an offer. Happ’s representatives have “indicated he’ll sign with the first” team that meets that asking price, however, so it seems possible that something could come together swiftly.

Entering the offseason, MLBTR predicted that Happ would indeed secure that third season in a new deal, riding his solid recent track record to a $48MM guarantee. There certainly seems to be sufficient interest to support such an outcome, though organizations are understandably hesitant to commit to Happ through his age-38 campaign.

To this point, the Phillies, Braves, Yankees, Brewers, Reds, Angels, Astros, Twins, Blue Jays, and White Sox have all been connected to Happ. It’s certainly not impossible to imagine a few other organizations with possible interest as well, though at present it’s tough to gauge the likeliest landing spots.

Latest On Corner Outfield Market

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The focus of the corner outfield market remains on Bryce Harper, of course, but there are a few other significant players available. Regarding Harper, there’s not much in the way of news, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at how he could conceivably end up falling to the Dodgers, who are said to be pursuing high-end assets. Here, though, we’ll focus in on the next-best assets on the market.

The Phillies are “showing significant interest” in Andrew McCutchen, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly, representing a new connection for the former superstar. Cutch is nowhere near the player he once was, but that easy characterization can tend to obscure how good he still is.

Meanwhile, the Astros are said to be in on another top corner piece. Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com, via Twitter, the Houston organization has interest in Michael Brantley. That’s a bit of a surprising match, if only because the team is still paying top dollar to another veteran lefty corner outfielder in Josh Reddick, but perhaps Brantley could also spend some time at first base to increase his versatility.

Earlier in the offseason, both McCutchen and Brantley were connected to the ’Stros — though mostly as part of a group of significant free agents. The Houston plans have remained hard to figure to this point, with the team’s intentions regarding top prospect Kyle Tucker potentially weighing in their assessment of new acquisition targets.

MLBTR predicted that both McCutchen and Brantley would secure three-year, $45MM pacts. There’s no real clarity as of yet as to whether the market will support those or greater values.

Payroll Notes: Astros, Indians, Cubs

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The Astros began last season with a team-record $182MM payroll, the fifth-highest mark in the league, but after falling short of their bid to repeat as World Series champs, there’s a possibility that payroll could rise even higher by the start of 2019, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. They won’t extend beyond the luxury tax mark, but Owner Jim Crane is giving the green light to inch closer to the $206MM tax line should the right deals come along via trades or free agency. The Astros long-term financial ledger is fairly clear with only Jose Altuve signed beyond 2020, and yet, by this time next winter, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock will be free agents, George Springer and Lance McCullers Jr. will be in their final year of arbitration, and young studs Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman should earn significant pay hikes in their second and first seasons of arb eligibility, respectively. Still, Houston appears staunch in their unwillingness to deal top prospect Forrest Whitley, and the offseason additions made thus far have been measured – infielder Aledmys Diaz is pre-arb and catcher Robinson Chirinos signed for one-year, $5.75MM. Expect GM Jeff Luhnow to continue to spend judiciously, as there does not appear to be a knee-jerk spending spree on the horizon, though the possibility for increased spending is there. Now, some other payroll notes from the 2016 pennant winners…

  • Rumors have not stopped swirling around the Cleveland Indians since the offseason began, but as evidenced by Carlos Carrasco’s journey from the trade block to signing a below-market extension, anything remains possible in Cleveland. In fact, there’s no set number for the team’s 2019 payroll, per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, as the team’s focus remains fixed on finding a balance between staying competitive with the American League’s upper echelon and maintaining a sustainable talent base beyond 2020. Cleveland’s payroll has risen to historic (for them) levels during this current competitive stretch, and there remains the mandate to shed payroll for 2019, but the priority, by far, is to add controllable assets for the future. While getting younger is an obvious side effect of increased controllability, youth is in-and-of-itself not the goal for ownership. Where the payroll for 2019 ends up is a flexible line, so long as the goal of adding controllable assets is achieved. This falls in line with current thinking that the Indians are less likely to attach one of their bulkier short-term contracts to Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer, as either pitcher on their own will net a far more controllable collection of assets. With movement on the free agent and trade markets relatively slow league-wide, the Indians have the prerogative of patience at the moment, but as major signings start to trickle in, it will be interested to track the level of urgency in Cleveland regarding these trade talks. That said, pitchers like Kluber and Bauer will never cease to attract interested trade partners, but the window for moving a package like the rumored Edwin Encarnacion/Yandy Diaz deal may have a smaller, or at least, shifting window of availability.
  • The Cubs continue to target late-inning bullpen additions, a backup catcher and potentially a middle infielder, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Any trades involving current players, such as Ben Zobrist, who is in the last year of his deal, or noted trade target Kyle Schwarber would have to improve the Cubs from an on-field standpoint, as despite their fiscal restraints, they do not appear motivated to move someone like Zobrist simply for the salary relief.
  • That said, the Cubs have a fairly specific wish list this winter after the departures of David Ross (after 2016) and Jon Jay (after 2017) led to a perceived leadership void in the Cubs clubhouse, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. One solution may be to have Ross himself, still employed as a special assistant, spend more time around the team this season, but the Cubs front office remains on the lookout for a vocal veteran who can bring some accountability to the Chicago locker room. GM Jed Hoyer dubbed their lack of leadership in 2018 as a “miscalculation,” as they assumed certain issues would resolve themselves because so much of the Chicago core had been together for so long. It’s an interesting area of need for the Cubs considering they have no shortage of veterans who, to the outside eye, might step into that leadership void. Presumably, veterans like Jon Lester, Anthony Rizzo, Cole Hamels, Jason Heyward, Pedro Strop and Zobrist provide varying degrees of leadership, and the more youthful Javier Baez and Willson Contreras also seem capable of galvanizing the team at times, but the ability to take someone to task is indeed a rare trait, it seems, and one that Hoyer suggests is more likely to come from a reserve than a marquee player. 

Pitching Notes: Gray, Reds, Ray, Santana, Pomeranz, Nationals, Eovaldi

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While the Yankees have broadcast far and wide their intentions to deal Sonny Gray, they are still shopping for the best possible return, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Yanks are said to have tried to pry loose well-regarded prospect Taylor Trammell from the Reds, though unsurprisingly that effort proved unsuccessful. Sherman suggests that could be an indication that New York has good offers in hand — or, alternatively, that the Yankees are swinging for the fences just in case a big score can be found.

There’s certainly no shortage of interest in Gray, as GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including Sherman) that 11 teams have checked in on the right-hander.  “We haven’t found the sweet spot yet” in talks, Cashman said, as the Yankees are exploring a variety of offers involving Gray from a smaller number of teams than that initial 11-club group.

Some more on the busy pitching market…

  • Teams who have called the Diamondbacks about Robbie Ray say that the left-hander isn’t available in trade talks, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  That tracks with reports from earlier today, which stated that the D’Backs had put a very high price tag on Ray, even if the southpaw isn’t entirely untouchable.  Ray is controlled for the next two seasons at fairly reasonable arbitration costs, giving Arizona less incentive to him than a player entering his last year under contract (the already-dealt Paul Goldschmidt) or a player taking up a massive chunk of the payroll (i.e. Zack Greinke).  The D’Backs are telling teams they aren’t entering into a complete rebuild, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).
  • There is “widespread interest” in Ervin Santana, as per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link), though a signing doesn’t seem imminent.  Finger surgery limited Santana to just 24 1/3 innings in 2018, and he feels he’ll probably sign later in the offseason once he can display to teams that he is fully healthy.  Santana is an intriguing buy-low candidate, given that he posted solid-to-excellent numbers in the five seasons prior to his injury-marred 2018 campaign.
  • Also from Cotillo, another bounce-back candidate in free agent lefty Drew Pomeranz has drawn interest from a “handful” of suitors.
  • Even after signing Patrick Corbin, the Nationals searching for another starter, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).  Tanner Roark is coming off a middling season and Joe Ross only just returned from Tommy John surgery, so there’s certainly some room for Washington to improve at the back of their rotation beyond the big three of Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg.  Beyond another starter, Heyman also said the Nats are looking to add a reliever and a second baseman.
  • Three other teams were finalists for Nathan Eovaldi before the right-hander re-signed with the Red Sox, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets.  The Angels were one of the finalists, and Eovaldi himself implied that the Astros were another, saying that he strongly considered pitching in his hometown of Houston.  It isn’t known who the fourth finalist was, though the Phillies also had interest in Eovaldi, but as a closer, reports The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link).  Eovaldi’s desire to remain as a starting pitcher closed the door on that opportunity, however.
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