Nate Eovaldi is most likely returning to the starting rotation
Oct 8, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) pitches in the first inning in game three of the 2018 ALDS playoff baseball series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Barring some Tuesday wackiness, the Red Sox are going to use starter-turned-reliever Nathan Eovaldi as an opener on Wednesday and leave the 29-year-old in the starting rotation for the remainder of the year, according to Alex Cora.
Eovaldi starts tomorrow with the plan to leave him in the rotation.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 13, 2019
It’s Cora’s latest attempt to salvage what’s felt like an undeniably lost season for the hard-throwing righty.
Put on the shelf in April due to “loose bodies” in his throwing elbow, the Red Sox did not see Eovaldi return to the team until July 20, and activated him with the intention of moving him to the bullpen as a “high-leverage” reliever. But that role never truly materialized for Eovaldi, as he has surrendered eight earned runs on 16 hits in 10.2 innings of work out of the bullpen, leaving the Red Sox to turn to Brandon Workman as their closer.
Wednesday’s reintroduction to the rotation will come with a 55-pitch limit, according to Cora, as the Sox will look to rebuild Eovaldi’s stamina back up to where it needs to be to be a legitimate option to save an overworked bullpen.
Eovaldi, acquired from the Rays last season and a pivotal part of the Boston staff en route to the 2018 World Series, is in the first year of a four-year, $67.5 million contract signed last December.
