Is Nathan Eovaldi getting a Qualifying Offer from the Red Sox?
Nathan ‘Nasty Nate’ Eovaldi has been a revelation since coming to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline and will go down in franchise history as one of their greatest midseason acquisitions ever.
Not only did he become an immediate fan favorite, he was also a massive factor in bringing a championship to Boston that fall. But as high as the highs were, the lows were right there to bring the game back to reality. Eovaldi had already missed plenty of time due to injuries before coming to Boston and lost more during his Red Sox tenure. After throwing 54 innings for the Sox in the second half of 2018, injuries limited him to 67 2/3 innings the following year.
Eovaldi returned to stud form in 2020, but even in that shortened season, was only able to make nine starts for 48 1/3 innings. Luckily, he continued pitching like an ace in 2021, making a league-leading 32 starts of 182 1/3 innings, both marks the second highest of his career and most since 2014.
Unfortunately, the fireballing righty’s most recent season was a real mixed bag. Injuries reared their ugly heads again and even though he wanted to take the ball every turn in the rotation, his body wouldn’t let him. Between his back and neck, he missed 75 days this season and it took its toll; his velocity never recovered and his once-untouchable fastball became very hittable. The 21 home runs he allowed were the second most of his career, and if he’d been healthy enough to pitch more, he might have surpassed the 23 round-trippers he gave up when he pitched for the Yankees in 2016.
Eovaldi will turn 33 around the time pitchers and catchers report for spring training, and with a pair of Tommy John surgeries under his belt already, as well as other procedures and ailments, it feels safe to say that he won’t be getting a Qualifying Offer, either. Like Martinez, it’s possible Bloom could make a lower-priced offer, but even that may be a stretch at this point. The Red Sox are trying to get away from injury-prone pitchers, not keep them around, and Eovaldi is on the record saying they haven’t approached him about an extension.