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.