Injuries and bad performance out of the rotation finally forced the hand of President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski as just six days prior to the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox finally made an acquisition to add depth to the rotation.
For years, it was considered taboo in baseball for division rivals to make any sort of significant trade to help one of the division leaders get better. That being said, 2018 has changed the way we think in terms of how inter-division affairs work in Major League Baseball. Not only did Dombrowski add Steve Pearce from the Blue Jays on June 29, but now he’s added right-handed starter, Nathan Eovaldi, from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox had been linked to many big name pitchers, not just starters, over the course of the past week: the likes of Zach Britton, Raisel Iglesias, and Lance Lynn. The one question that remained consistent throughout the reports was: Do the Red Sox have what it takes to outbid other teams interested in the player on the market?
However, despite the 28-year-old attracting interest from many teams around the league, which included the Yankees, the Red Sox were able to get the deal done early, and for a pretty cheap return.
The player going to the Rays in exchange for Eovaldi is lefty, Jalen Beeks. The Red Sox gave Beeks two looks at the big league level this season, with nothing to show for it. In two outings, Beeks went 0-1 with a 12.79 ERA. It’s because of his ineptitude to consistently get outs, on top of the uncertainty of the futures of Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright that pushed Dombrowski to make this trade.
The new guy coming to Boston was 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in ten starts since coming back from Tommy John surgery.
Three different times in 2018 alone, Eovaldi has entered the sixth inning with a no-hitter intact. The combination of a wipeout breaking ball and a fastball that sits in the mid-upper 90’s makes him a dangerous pitcher. The Red Sox and their fans should be very excited about Eovaldi has to offer this team as they try to win their first world series since 2013.
