It’s no secret the Red Sox are hitting the reset button. Everybody outside of Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, and Eduardo Rodriguez. There has been talk that a player like Nathan Eovaldi will become a salary dump eventually. I think that is a really wrong way at looking at it. Eovaldi should be treated as an asset, not a liability for the Red Sox. He’s not a player you’re just going to take off their hands as a favor. Eovaldi is one that should be valued and should command a significant return in a potential trade.
There is no way to sugar coat it. Nathan Eovaldi was bad in 2019. He also wasn’t healthy and was managed poorly. A 5.99 ERA in over 67 innings of work is ugly. Still, we should have seen that coming. Eovaldi was overworked in the Red Sox World Series run. We all know about that heroic extra inning game. That following season, Eovaldi barely pitched in spring training and the wheels fell off. He was set up to fail in 2019. It’s not Boston’s fault, just was the circumstance.
Then we enter the 2019 season, Eovaldi gets hurt, the Red Sox ask the unthinkable. “Hey, I know you’re rehabbing so we think it’s a good idea to move you to the bullpen so that you can actually blow your arm out”. I don’t know who’s idea that was, but it was maybe the single most asinine decision the Red Sox have ever made. Eovaldi was shifted to the pen and opponents hit .304 off him. SHOCKER.
Now Eovaldi has had a full offseason plus to get healthy and get back on track. He still did strike out a career high 9.31 batters per 9 despite the down year. This is the same guy who has filthy stuff. The same guy who had an ERA of 3.33 with Boston in 2018 and a postseason ERA of 1.61. Eovaldi has heart and never backs down from the moment. Eovaldi can still shove 100 MPH regularly and a cutter that comes damn close.
The stuff has never been a question. Eovaldi has the makeup to follow the career path of Charlie Morton. Excellent stuff who put it all together once he figured out how to pitch. A big year is coming for nasty Nate. Just remember, the Red Sox shouldn’t just give him away. Nathan Eovaldi is an asset for Boston. Not a liability.
