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Nathan Eovaldi

Red Sox Place Nathan Eovaldi On 15-Day IL With Back Inflammation

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The Red Sox announced that starter Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 9, due to low back inflammation. Kutter Crawford has been recalled in a corresponding move and is starting tonight’s game.

This is the second blow to the Red Sox rotation in recent days as Garrett Whitlock also landed on the injured list two days ago. That leaves the rotation doubly handicapped for the next couple of weeks at least. After a rough start to the year, the club has charged their way back into the postseason picture with strong play of late, but now they will have to try to keep that up with diminished starting depth. As of right now, Crawford will join a rotation that also features Michael Wacha, Rich Hill and Nick Pivetta.

The club has an off-day tomorrow but then plays nine games in a row. After another off-day on June 23, they will begin a stretch of 23 consecutive games going into the All-Star break. If Whitlock and Eovaldi can return to health, they can rejoin the club in that latter stretch, though it seems the club’s rotation is going to be tested one way or another. Josh Winckowski, Connor Seabold, Brayan Bello and Bryan Mata are all on the 40-man roster and are candidates to be called up to help, if needed.

The loss of Eovaldi will surely hurt, though, as he’s having another strong season. Through 68 1/3 innings, he has a 3.16 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate, 3.6% walk rate and 45.1% ground ball rate. He is set to reach free agency at the end of the year.

Eovaldi Won’t Discuss Extension During Season

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In an about-face from an earlier report, it appears one of the Red Sox’ best starters is destined to reach free agency at season’s end after all. Right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was previously thought to be open to mid-season extension talks, but WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that Eovaldi has no desire to discuss contract matters during the season. Bradford adds that there is an expectation the righty’s camp will be in contact with the team after the 2022 campaign concludes.

It’s commonplace for players in walk years to halt extension talks after Opening Day— look no further than the division rival Yankees for recent evidence of that— though it registers as a mild surprise that Eovaldi’s self-imposed deadline has come and gone without much talking at all. Eovaldi is coming off the finest season of his career: a 182-inning showing of 3.75 ERA ball with elite command (4.6% walk rate), Cy Young votes, and a bevy of underlying metrics that indicate his performance was even better than his ERA lets on. With just one season to go before a healthy payday awaits the righty in free agency, however, it’s possible Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom and the front office didn’t see the cost upside in writing up a new contract now.

Alternatively, the Red Sox front office may have simply been too preoccupied post-lockout trying to assemble a team with playoff aspirations. Though the club did kick the tires on extensions with franchise players Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, neither discussion got very far. The front office engaged sophomore pitcher Garrett Whitlock in extension talks, agreeing to an extension this past Sunday, though that’s a value play that was unlikely to be afforded in the veteran Eovaldi’s case. Due to either consistent high-end performance or financial upside it’s easy to see why extension talks were prioritized in all three of these cases over the one with a 32-year-old pitcher.

With Eovaldi all but certain to reach free agency, he’ll join a group teeming with upside (and for the Red Sox, potential replacements). Assuming some opt-outs are exercised and some player options are not, the 2022-23 free agent market stands to contain elite names like Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw. With more than $100MM worth of commitments likely headed off the books after the season, the Red Sox should have no shortage of options to explore this offseason, be it by re-upping some familiar faces or by inviting some new ones into the fold.

Eovaldi Willing To Negotiate In-Season; No Talks Yet

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In a few short hours, hard-throwing righty Nathan Eovaldi is set to make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Red Sox, against the Yankees.  As Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic notes, Eovaldi is in rare company in doing so.  The 32-year-old Eovaldi told reporters yesterday that while the Red Sox did not approach him about a contract extension during spring training, he’d be willing to negotiate in-season.

Eovaldi’s current contract, a four-year, $68MM deal, was something of a new standard when it was struck with Dave Dombrowski 36 days after the team’s World Series parade.  A veteran of two Tommy John surgeries who had limited innings in the years prior, Eovaldi was still able to score a fourth year given the buzz around him at the time.

Eovaldi has mostly answered health and durability questions since then, and has also posted career-best strikeout and walk rates.  Still, he’ll pitch in the first year of a new contract at age 33.  He’d be justified seeking a new contract at least in the range of the $23.67-25MM AAV achieved by Marcus Stroman and Justin Verlander this winter.  The comparable Eovaldi will likely be pointing to age-wise: Hyun Jin Ryu’s four-year, $80MM deal with the Blue Jays, which also began with Ryu’s age-33 campaign.  The two bear little similarity otherwise, as Eovaldi’s 96.9 mile per hour average fastball velocity ranked fifth among qualified starting pitchers in 2021.

Red Sox chief baseball office Chaim Bloom had avoided large and long-term contracts in his 29-month tenure with the club until signing Trevor Story for six years a few weeks ago.  If Eovaldi does insist on four years and the Red Sox let him reach the open market, he could be joined by free agent starters such as Chris Bassitt, Mike Clevinger, Jacob deGrom, Zach Eflin, Clayton Kershaw, Sean Manaea, Joe Musgrove, Carlos Rodon, Noah Syndergaard, and Justin Verlander.

Looking Ahead To The ALCS Rotations

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The Red Sox will go with Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi in the first two games of the ALCS against the Astros, but it’s anyone’s guess as to who might be available for game three.

The uncertainty stems not from an uneven rotation, but from an uncertain group of relievers. Manager Alex Cora’s other available starters – Eduardo Rodriguez, Tanner Houck, and Nick Pivetta – will be available out in the bullpen for the start of the series, writes MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. That’s a strategy that worked for Cora in the ALDS. Pivetta proved crucial out of the pen against the Rays, a performance redolent of Eovaldi’s own in the 2018 World Series. Houck tossed seven innings of relief in the series as well, yielding just a pair of runs.

Whereas the Red Sox were able to patchwork their bullpen for a four-game series win against the Rays, they will likely need an even more dynamic approach to survive a seven-game tilt against the Astros’ potent offense. There is definite potential for this series to turn into a slugfest, not only because these two clubs boast the first and fifth ranked offenses in the game by runs scored in the regular season, but because the Astros are likely to be without Lance McCullers Jr. Results of the MRI on his sore forearm have yet to be revealed.

McCullers may not be viewed nationally as an ace, he’s been nothing short of stellar in the postseason. He owns a 2.83 ERA in 57 1/3 career postseason innings.

And while McCullers can boast the distinction of having started a game seven of the World Series back in 2017 (a win), he could be replaced by another righty who’s held that honor. Zack Greinke started game seven of the World Series in 2019 for Houston (a loss), and though he’s not likely to put up a full starter’s load, he could be used as an opener in McCullers’ stead, writes The Athletic’s Jack Kaplan. Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, and Jake Odorizzi are also candidates to pick up bulk innings if McCullers is unavailable.

What we do know is that Framber Valdez will take on Sale in game one, while Luis Garcia will go head-to-head with Eovaldi in game two, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Red Sox have the experience edge, but Valdez is no stranger to postseason success. Garcia, meanwhile, has at least gotten his feet wet in the playoffs: he had a scoreless two-inning outing in 2020 and 2 2/3 innings as the starter in game three versus the White Sox.

Red Sox Bullpen Changing Shape

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The Red Sox bullpen – ranked 12th in the Majors with a collective 3.97 ERA – will have to make room for a couple of extra bodies today. With the season coming down to two final games against the Nationals, manager Alex Cora is all-hands-on-deck, telling starters Nathan Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta to be ready out the bullpen, if necessary, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Both Pivetta and Eovaldi have spent the entire season pitching out of Boston’s rotation.

Eovaldi and Pivetta are a necessary safeguard in part because Garrett Whitlock still isn’t ready to return. Whitlock has a chance to return for Sunday’s game, which is more than can get said for Josh Taylor. The 28-year-old southpaw is out for the foreseeable future, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey (via Twitter). Taylor has been a major contributor, pitching in 61 games and serving as the primary southpaw among Boston’s relief corps. A back injury has ended his season. He has a 3.40 ERA/2.83 FIP, holding same-handed hitters to a measly .146/.222/.159 line in 90 plate appearances.

Without Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, Austin Davis, and deposed starter Martin Perez are the other lefties available to Cora against the Nats, who boast a lineup heavy on lefties or switch-hitters, most notably Juan Soto, but also Josh Bell, Yadiel Hernandez, and Keibert Ruiz, whom the Nats often feature near the middle of the order.

As for Whitlock, he’s been one of Boston’s most valuable players, which is certainly a surprising development for the Rule 5 pick. Regardless, the 25-year-old stabilized the Red Sox bullpen with 72 1/3 innings spread across 45 appearances, good for a 1.99 ERA/2.89 FIP. Whitlock has picked up eight wins, two saves, and 14 holds en route to a 1.5 fWAR season.

Without Whitlock, Cora will leave open the possibility of using Eovaldi or Pivetta out of the pen. Tanner Houck and Chris Sale are set to start the final two ballgames, making everyone else on the roster on call as they try to hold off the Mariners and Blue Jays for the final playoff spot in the American League. Presumably, Eduardo Rodriguez would be available to start a potential one-game playoff.

Red Sox Notes: E-Rod, Devers, Whitlock

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The Red Sox have scratched lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from his Opening Day start due to a “dead arm,” manager Alex Cora announced to reporters this morning (Twitter links via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). Fellow veteran Nathan Eovaldi will instead take the mound for the season opener. At this point, the Sox are calling the move precautionary and aren’t even certain that Rodriguez will be placed on the injured list. He’ll throw a bullpen in the coming days, and the team will evaluate him once they see how his arm responds. It’s possible Rodriguez will simply just have his first start of the season pushed back, but there won’t be any clarity on the matter for a few days.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez did not pitch in 2020 after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and then developing a subsequent case of myocarditis — an enlargement of the heart — in the aftermath. Rodriguez not only appeared to be healthy for most of Spring Training but looked quite impressive, tossing 13 2/3 innings and holding opponents to four earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with 15 strikeouts. He’s slated to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

A couple more notes on the Red Sox…

  • There have been no talks of an extension with Rafael Devers this spring, as the third baseman himself revealed this week (via Cotillo). Devers added that he’s very much open to discussing a deal, however. The 24-year-old is still controlled through the 2023 season, so there’s no immediate rush for the Red Sox to get him locked into a long-term deal. That said, he’s also reached the point of his career where he’s begun to build the financial safety net that removes some of a player’s incentive to take an early deal. Devers reached arbitration eligibility this winter and agreed to a one-year, $4.575MM contract for the 2021 season. So long as he remains healthy and approaches the .298/.348/.536 output he produced in 2019-20, he should be in for a sizable raise on that sum next winter as well.
  • The Red Sox have informed Rule 5 Draft pick Garrett Whitlock that he has made the Opening Day roster, Cora also revealed in talking with reporters this morning (Twitter link via the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham). That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the outstanding spring that the right-hander has put together. Whitlock, an 18th-round pick of the rival Yankees in 2017, has pitched in four games with the Sox and tallied nine innings, allowing one run on eight hits and no walks with a dozen strikeouts. The 24-year-old is likely ticketed for the Boston bullpen to begin the season, but he’s worked almost exclusively as a starter in the Yankees’ system, so it’s possible he’ll eventually work out of the rotation in Boston — if he sticks on the roster for the long haul.

Red Sox Activate Nathan Eovaldi, Option Matt Hall

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The Red Sox have reinstated Nathan Eovaldi in time to make the start tonight, per a team release. In the corresponding move, lefty Matt Hall was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.

Eovaldi hit the injured list at the very tail end of August. He made 6 starts on the year after earning the Opening Day start for the first time in his career. He went 2-2 with a 4.98 ERA/4.62 FIP across 34 1/3 innings with a strong 5.5 K/BB. Manager Ron Roenicke plans for Eovaldi to go just a couple of innings in tonight’s start as he works his way back from a calf strain, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).

Hall’s season went back bad to worse last night as he absorbed the loss to the Rays after surrendering 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old southpaw has a 18.69 ERA on the season after yielding 18 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings across four appearances (1 start). The Red Sox acquired Hall this past January from the Tigers for 25-year-old minor-league catcher Jhon Nunez. Hall has provided valuable innings for the depleted Red Sox at the expense of his personal numbers. The Missouri native’s career ERA has risen to 11.48 while he’s fallen 0.9 rWAR further in the hole (-1.9 rWAR for his career).

Rangers, Red Sox Have Discussed Rougned Odor-Nathan Eovaldi Trade

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The Rangers and Red Sox have discussed a trade that would send second baseman Rougned Odor to Boston for right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. It’s unclear whether the trade would include Texas taking on extra money or if prospects would be in the deal, according to Grant.

Odor, who’s making a prorated $9MM in 2020, is in the fourth season of a six-year, $49.5MM contract that includes a remaining $27MM. The deal also features a $13.5MM club option for 2023, but the way Odor’s career has gone, his employer’s sure to buy him out for $3MM. When Odor signed his pact in 2017, he was coming off back-to-back 2.5-fWAR seasons, but he has seldom revisited that form since then. In fact, going back to the first season of the contract, Odor has slashed a less-than-stellar .216/.281/.412 with 81 home runs, 38 stolen bases and 0.6 fWAR across 1,853 plate appearances. His 17 wRC+ this season over 86 trips to the plate ranks next to last among 224 hitters who have amassed 80-plus PA.

Eovaldi, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Rays in 2018, was one of their many standouts during their run to a World Series that year. He was on the cusp of free agency at the time, but his down-the-stretch success convinced Boston to hand him a four-year, $68MM contract during the ensuing offseason. Unfortunately for both sides, though, the move hasn’t gone well. Eovaldi, 30, missed a large portion of last season with injuries and, despite 97 mph velocity and 8.65 K/9 against 1.57 BB/9, hasn’t done well to keep runs off the board this year. Overall, he has pitched to a woeful 5.65 ERA/5.45 FIP in 102 innings since landing his big payday. He’ll be due another $34MM after this season, and his annual $17MM luxury tax bill is another negative for a Red Sox team trying to avoid the line, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes. Odor’s CBT bill comes in at a much more palatable $8.25MM.

Should this change-of-scenery swap go down, the Red Sox would be landing a potential second base starter who’s still just 26. The injury-plagued Dustin Pedroia has barely been a factor since 2018, and he may never play again because of knee issues. And his year’s primary second base options – Jose Peraza and Jonathan Arauz – have mustered weak production. Meanwhile, Eovaldi would at least give the Rangers another arm in a rotation that’s in flux. The Rangers just parted with Mike Minor in a trade with the Athletics on Monday, and it appears Lance Lynn could also move before the 3 p.m. CT deadline.

Red Sox Place Nathan Eovaldi On 10-Day IL

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The Boston Red Sox placed starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on the 10-day injured list with a mild calf strain, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter).

Though this injury is not expected to shelve Eovaldi for long, the hulking right-hander has been continually beset by injuries throughout his career. After missing all of the 2017 season, Eovaldi’s redemption story is well-known. The Red Sox got him via trade from the Rays midway through 2018, and he proved a vital addition en route to winning the 2018 World Series. Eovaldi’s gutsy extra-inning relief appearance in that World Series seems lifetimes away, however, as both he and the Red Sox have fallen on hard times. His output in 2019 was well within Boston’s expectations, but injuries limited the Houston native to just 12 starts.

He’s been healthy thus far this season, making his first six starts, going 2-2 with a 4.98 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 1.6 BB/9. While he’s limited free passes at a career-best rate, he has been bit by the long ball 7 times in just 34 1/3 innings. Still, 1.83 HR/9 and 21.2 HR/FB% would actually be improvements on last year’s numbers. Eovaldi’s bugaboo continues to be health, though again, this particular IL stint is not expected to be overlong. When healthy, he’s the only active remaining member of Boston’s championship rotation from 2018: Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez are out for the season, David Price was traded to the Dodgers, and Rick Porcello left to join the Mets as a free agent.

In a related roster move, 30-year-old Chris Mazza has been recalled. Eovaldi was scheduled to pitch on Sunday against Washington, but Zack Godley will get the nod for his sixth start of the season instead. Mazza stepped right into the rotation to face the Nationals tonight, but he lasted just 3 1/3 innings while struggling with his command. Mazza has a 5.73 ERA across 22 innings for the Red Sox and Mets between this year and last.

Quick Hits: Round Numbers, Red Sox Rotation, Astros

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If there’s something fans and baseball players can agree on, it’s a love of round numbers. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic-shortened seasons, many of baseball’s legendary Latino contemporaries may have to put away their obsession with certain benchmarks, writes ESPN’s Enrique Rojas. Albert Pujols needs 44 home runs to reach 700. Miguel Cabrera is 185 hits from 3,000 and 23 home runs from 500. Robinson Cano is just under 500 hits away from 3,000. Their ability to reach these markers is taking a hit with a shortened 2020. Given the changes in the game, there’s certainly a question about how long milestones of the past will continue to be held in such particular esteem. Rate statistics like wRC+ have already taken hold in some parts of the baseballsphere, and it’s certainly worth wondering if similar metrics will start to be used more in conjunction with traditional statistical benchmarks (300 wins, 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, etc.). Now let’s see what’s happening on the field…

  • It’s looking less and less likely that Eduardo Rodriguez will be back in time to start the Red Sox Opening Day contest, per Chris Cotillo of masslive.com. That puts Nathan Eovaldi in line to get the Opening Day nod. The rest of the Red Sox rotation remains a bit of a mess, certainly a far cry from the squad the took the team to the World Series just two seasons ago. But with Chris Sale on the shelf, David Price and Rick Porcello both gone, Boston is turning to the likes of Martin Perez, Ryan Weber, Chris Mazza, Jeffrey Springs, Colten Brewer and Matt Hall for rotation consideration. Collin McHugh, signed at the tail end of free agency, will not be ready by Opening Day. The Red Sox are counting on less-heralded performers than in year’s past, but there’s room for someone (or a few someone’s) to step up and stake their claim to a locker in Boston.
  • The Astros canceled their workout today after someone on staff became exposed to COVID-19, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). GM James Click released a statement: “As part of MLB’s testing and reporting plan, we were alerted that a staff member was potentially exposed to a COVID-positive individual outside the organization. Out of an abundance of caution, we have cancelled today’s workout.” These sorts of snow days may become commonplace, at least in these early days. Still, it’s an important measure. Credit the Astros for taking the necessary amount of caution here. [UPDATE: the Astros announced that workouts at Minute Maid Park will resume on Sunday.]
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