Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi is finally having his career year
The Red Sox starter has endured the long road to put it all together
As Nathan Eovaldi exited the mound at Fenway Park last Tuesday night, he could take solace in the fact that he just completed one of the best starting pitching efforts the Boston Red Sox have seen throughout the entire second half.
Eovaldi spun seven shutout innings against the ever-potent Tampa Bay Rays, marking the latest chapter in his run of dominance. In his last six starts, Eovaldi has posted a 1.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 37.2 innings, allowing only 8 earned runs, holding opposing batters to a .207 average, and whiffing 47 hitters.
Getting to this point certainly wasn’t easy. Having already undergone his first Tommy John surgery before being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, Eovaldi struggled with inconsistency and injury throughout his early career.
In 2012, after going 1-6 with a 4.15 ERA, he was traded to the Miami Marlins in the deal that put Red Sox alumni Hanley Ramirez in Dodger blue. Eovaldi spent two-and-a half seasons in Miami, ultimately posting a 13-27 record, a 4.10 ERA, 264 strikeouts, and a 93 ERA+ in 369.0 innings. Though his surface stats were rough in 2014 (6-14, 4.37 ERA), Eovaldi posted career highs in starts (33) and innings (199.2), and they remain the best of his career today.
Shortly thereafter, Eovaldi was traded again, this time being sent to the New York Yankees. With the addition of a split-fingered fastball, 2015 became Eovaldi’s best overall season up to that point. For most of the summer, Eovaldi was lights out — from June to August, he went undefeated (8-0) and posted a 2.93 ERA. In September, the rest of his season was derailed by elbow inflammation, and the Yankees shut him down.
2016 saw Eovaldi finish close to his previous years performance, but the injuy bug bit once more — this time, it was the need for another Tommy John surgery. Afterwards, the Yankees released him, and the book was closed on Eovaldi in New York.
Though he was going to miss all of 2017 rehabbing from Tommy John, the Tampa Bay Rays took a chance on Eovaldi, inking him to a one-year, $2 million contract with a club option under the same terms. After a strong spring training in 2018 (3.24 ERA), Eovaldi suffered a setback in his recovery that March, requiring another elbow surgery, this time for “loose bodies”. Eovaldi finally completed the long road back, returning on May 30, 2018 for his first regular season start in almost a year-and-a-half. That night, Eovaldi shut down the Oakland A’s through six no hit innings.
The Red Sox acquire Nathan Eovaldi
That performance definitely caught the attention of the Red Sox. The week before the 2018 trade deadline, Boston sent Jalen Beeks to Tampa Bay in exchange for Eovaldi. With the 2018 Red Sox, Eovaldi had one of the best runs of his career, posting a 3.33 ERA in 12 games, striking out 48 batters in 54 innings.
Eovaldi was excellent in the postseason — he shut down the Yankees over 7 innings in the Brock Holt game, pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball against the Houston Astros in Game Three of the ALCS, and helped close the door on Game Five, throwing 1.1 innings out of the bullpen.
If all of that wasn’t enough, Eovaldi went above and beyond, establishing himself in Red Sox lore with a gutsy performance in Game Three of the 2018 World Series against the Dodgers. Though he became the losing pitcher in the longest World Series game ever recorded, Eovaldi gutted through 6 innings of relief (the first reliever to do so in a World Series game since 1977) and throwing 97 pitches (the most ever thrown by a reliever in a World Series game).
After the Red Sox and Chris Sale shut the door on the Dodgers in Game 5, Eovaldi became a free agent, but it was obvious the Red Sox had a lot of interest in locking him up for the long run, and that’s exactly what they did to the tune of $68 million over 4 years. It was an obvious move to make, and it was certainly deserved — though some were concerned due his injury history and inconsistent numbers. 2019 was to be Eovaldi’s age-29 season, and the Red Sox were counting on Eovaldi to be a top-of-the-line starter, along with veterans Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Rick Porcello.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t mean to be. Eovaldi struggled right out of the gate, posting a 6.00 ERA with four no decisions in his first four starts. It wasn’t long before another “loose body” was found in his pitching elbow and he missed the next two-and-a-half months after undergoing surgery. Eovaldi scuffled upon his return, first in a closer role, giving up 5 earned runs in 3.2 innings.
The Red Sox opted to move Brandon Workman to the closer role, shifting Eovaldi back into the rotation. He went on to finish with a 5.99 ERA in 23 games (12 starts), but his strikeout numbers were encouraging (70 in 67.2 innings).
The Red Sox rotation falls apart
As for the other key members of the rotation, Sale struggled throughout the season, posing a 6-11 record with a career-high 4.40 ERA in 25 starts. Though he struck out 218 batters in 147.2 innings, Sale never found a groove and eventually had to undergo Tommy John surgery, missing all of 2020 (Sale has been fantastic since his return to Red Sox in August — he was placed on the COVID-19 IL on Saturday, however).
To Rodriguez’s credit, 2019 has been his best season to date (Rodriguez missed 2020 to a heart condition caused by COVID-19 and he’s been inconsistent this year) — his 19 wins were the third most in baseball and his 203.1 innings were among the top 15, just behind Jacob Degrom.
Porcello went 14-12 with a 5.52 ERA and left in free agency, signing with the New York Mets.
The Red Sox finished 84-78, missing the playoffs. In the offseason, they lost Manager Alex Cora due to MLB’s findings in the Houston Astros sign stealing investigation (Cora returned before the 2021 season). Mookie Betts was traded to the Dodgers. Then, the world experienced a life-changing pandemic, which is still impacting everyone, including the Red Sox.
Eovaldi moves to the front of the Red Sox rotation
When the 2020 season finally rolled around, Eovaldi was named as the Opening Day starter, in what was maybe a move based more on necessity than numbers. Sale had been chosen in both 2018 and 2019, but was out for the year. It would’ve been Rodriguez had it not been for COVID.
In what became a season low on reasons for excitement, Eovaldi became one of the reasons to tune in. On Opening Day, he rewarded manager Ron Roenicke with 6 innings of 1-run baseball. Although Eovaldi lost time in September due to a calf strain, he posted one his best statistical seasons, ending with a 3.72 ERA and a 4-2 record with 52 strikeouts in 48.1 innings during the shortened 60-game season.
With 2020 turning to 2021, one of the biggest question marks regarding the Red Sox revolved around the starting rotation. Sale wasn’t expected back until mid-June or July at the earliest. No one knew how Rodriguez would bounce back from his heart condition. The Red Sox re-signed Martín Pérez and signed Garrett Richards. Tanner Houck had been electric in his September call-up, but was still an unknown prospect. It was clear that Eovaldi was going to be called on by the returning Cora to lead the rotation until Sale returned (and perhaps even after that).
Eovaldi has since thrived in the role of ace. Opposing batters are hitting .180 against his curveball and .189 against his split-finger fastball. He is striking out 9.4 batters per 9 innings and his walk rate is the lowest in baseball at 1.6 per 9 innings. He made his first All Star team this season, pitching a scoreless inning (with some help from Xander Bogaerts).
Eovaldi has also showcased different pitching motions, including quick pitch and pausing mechanics. In an interview with The Athletic, Eovaldi explained the reasoning behind this.
“(I) just started to pause with my splitter and Bushy (Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush) said well, let’s mix in the slider as well…if you throw the slider you want it down in the dirt because they’re going to be out in front of it already and you want them to chase. It’ll be harder for them to lay off because of their eyesight. I’ve been trying to add more of those into the mix, same thing with the curveball, the splitter and working on the cutter a little.”
Eovaldi’s ability to add deception to his elite repertoire has allowed him to throw hitters off balance and finally live up to his true potential. He’s gathered the most strikeouts of his career (171) in the second-most innings of his career (163.2), as well is his 3.57 ERA. He allows less than a home run a game (0.8).
Eovaldi has experienced his first truly healthy full season since 2014, making 28 starts to this point, which is also the second-most in his career. He became the most important pitcher for the Red Sox this season, and his success is absolutely crucial if the Red Sox want to hang in the Wild Card race.
Eovaldi becomes a free agent at the end of next season, and if he closes strong this year and replicates this level of success in 2022, the Red Sox are going to need to think about bring him back in some way. At the end of his contract, he’ll be 32, the same age Sale is now. His veteran presence could continue to help young pitchers like Houck and Garrett Whitlock.
Regardless of the future, one thing is for sure — Nathan Eovaldi has officially cemented himself as an elite, top-of-the-line starter — and he has no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Next. September is decision time for 40-man roster. dark