Let me first state how I don’t blame Nathan Eovaldi for doing anything the way he has up until this point. I think that he has done well for himself, and cashed in when he should. But for the team, he screwed up.
Eovaldi has almost single-handedly put the Red Sox in an extremely difficult position. Everyone knows this past Red Sox team will go down as one of the greatest teams ever in MLB history. Eovaldi was a key cog of that with his key starts in the postseason and a memorable six-inning relief outing in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Big picture though, Eovaldi doubled or even tripled the money he would get on the open market even though it gave the Red Sox a ring. This was evident when he signed a four year, $68 million deal to remain with the Red Sox. This deal has major ramifications for the Red Sox as a whole.
The Red Sox are now in a tenuous salary cap situation. So much so that they are reportedly listening on trade proposals on Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Rick Porcello. These three were instrumental in the Sox rise to the top along with Eovaldi, and losing even one of them will severely compromise a core that the Sox have nurtured for years. Porcello is probably the one most likely to go because of his salary, but he was a valuable weapon out of the pen during the playoffs and a former Cy Young winner in his own right.
The Red Sox still have to extend players like Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Bogaerts. David Price is still under contract for a massive amount of money, and the Red Sox is still kicking Pablo Sandoval’s contract around.
I don’t belittle Eovaldi for getting his money—he should go after a meaty contract and he deserves his money. But as I have iterated in previous Eovaldi opinions, he got massively overpaid, especially for a fourth starter. I would’ve rather the Sox signed two relievers of the foursome of Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, David Robertson, and Adam Ottavino.
The Sox broke the bank for a questionable pitcher at best and might have to package some of their core players including two of the Killer B’s in order to stay under the luxury tax threshold or go after big name free agents. Dave Dombrowski made the wrong choice, but he was influenced by the court of public opinion. The Sox should’ve just aimed to get the entire gang back together—minus Drew Pomeranz. But Eovaldi doomed the chance of that happening, and it could be the difference between a second straight ring and watching from home late in October.
