Red Sox could solve rotation woes if former star pitcher gets placed on waivers

To call the Boston Red Sox pitching staff "depleted" would be an understatement. The injury bug has torn through their starting rotation at an inexplicable rate this season, leaving them with a quartet of arms that is a far cry from what their pitching staff was supposed to look like at the start of the season.

And yet, the Red Sox are still standing (barely). Sitting precariously at third place in the American League East Division, they are just two games back of a Wild Card spot. They are within striking distance of the postseason, but they can't afford to lose any ground right now; in other words, they are in survival mode.

With that in mind, the Red Sox should absolutely be on the lookout for post-trade deadline opportunities to shore up their pitching staff if they want to remain in the playoff hunt. While those opportunities are typically few and far between, there is one intriguing possibility on the horizon that could greatly help in solving their rotation problems.

Red Sox Rumors: Nathan Eovaldi reunion possible if Rangers pull plug?

The opportunity lies with the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers, who have found themselves in a unique payroll predicament that has reportedly prompted them to consider designating a few pitchers for assignment with the hope they get claimed off waivers to provide the club with some financial relief.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Rangers could take a chance and expose right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to waivers, given that he would "almost certainly" be claimed. And what better team to claim him than the one with which he spent the majority of his MLB career?

Eovaldi spent parts of five seasons in Boston, helping the Red Sox win the World Series in 2018 and representing them at the MLB All-Star Game in 2021. After electing free agency in 2022, he signed a two-year, $34 million deal with the Rangers and went on to earn a second All-Star nod and World Series title in 2023. He has a 3.75 ERA with a 117-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .229 batting average against, and a 1.10 WHIP in 120 innings across 21 games this season, after which he is set to become a free agent.

The idea that the Rangers would even consider DFA'ing a pitcher of Eovaldi's caliber seems foolish until you take into account that Texas is not going to be making a playoff run this year and that Eovaldi only needs to pitch 36 more innings to become eligible for a $20 million player option in 2025. For a team like the Rangers looking to save money, offloading that salary would do the job.

Eovaldi has a 3.05 ERA in 79 2/3 postseason innings, so the Red Sox would be far from the only team trying to land him if he were to end up on waivers. But if they want to keep their postseason aspirations alive, a reunion with Eovaldi might be their best chance.

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