4:22pm: The deal has been formally announced. Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), Eovaldi’s guarantee will actually be an even $68MM over the four-year term.
“We’re very happy to have Nathan back with us,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a press release. “He did a tremendous job for us last season, playing a significant role in helping us win the division and the World Series. His performance in the Postseason was outstanding, both as a starting pitcher and as a reliever.”
8:53am: The Red Sox have struck a deal to bring back righty Nathan Eovaldi, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The ACES client has secured a four-year, $67.5MM contract, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
This was a match that MLBTR predicted in its listing of the top fifty MLB free agents. Frankly, that was one of the easier situations to predict, given Eovaldi’s stirring run for the World Series champs. MLBTR guessed Eovaldi would secure a $60MM guarantee over four years, a contract level that seemed quite ambitious at the time but has grown more and more plausible over the course of the winter.
Both the upside and the uncertainty that come with Eovaldi’s flamethrowing right arm are well-known. Having witnessed him up close for several months, concluding with a trial by fire on the game’s biggest stage, the Boston organization was well-placed to decide whether Eovaldi is worth the risk.
That’s not to say there weren’t other pursuers. Ultimately, the Astros, Phillies, Yankees, Brewers, Braves, Angels, White Sox, Blue Jays, Giants and Padres all reportedly had some level of involvement. That wide variety of suitors no doubt drove the bidding to heights that would have been all but unimaginable at the start of the 2018 season.
Once Patrick Corbin went off the board, the sprint for Eovaldi was on. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, however, clearly had decided that Eovaldi was a top priority. With deep pockets and the allure of a repeat title run aiding his cause, Dombrowski was able to get his target after a final push last night.
If any team is situated to take another shot on Eovaldi, it’s certainly the Sox. He has twice undergone Tommy John surgery, needed another elbow procedure at the outset of the 2018 season, and only once has made over thirty starts in a MLB campaign. Eovaldi’s career ERA of 4.16, compiled over 850 total frames, speaks to his years of generally unfulfilled promise with the Dodgers, Marlins, and Yankees. Noted surgeon Dr. Christopher Ahmad provided an optimistic viewpoint on Eovaldi’s outlook, and fielding-independent pitching measures generally valued the righty above his results, but there’s no denying the risk that comes with this kind of background.
That said, the ceiling here is quite compelling. Eovaldi hasn’t even yet turned 29 and sustained an average heater of over 97 mph last year. While he was a bit homer-prone during his time to open the season with the Rays, which hurt his outcomes even as he otherwise showed compelling stuff, the seven-year MLB vet was excellent down the stretch in 2018. He ultimately tossed 54 regular season frames of 3.33 ERA ball with 8.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 for the Sox. Over the course of the full campaign, Eovaldi’s swinging-strike rate surged to a career-high 10.7% while he turned in a sturdy 45.6% groundball rate that sat just under his personal mean.
No doubt that late run boosted Eovaldi’s stock, but it was his postseason showing that cemented his status as a top free agent arm. Eovaldi ended up turning in 22 1/3 frames over the team’s three series. He was excellent every time he took the ball, whether as a starter, late-inning reliever, or long man. Eovaldi ended up permitting just four earned runs on 15 hits and three walks while racking up 16 strikeouts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I finally got one correct
Me too, my first.
I’m a Red Sox fan, but I’m conflicted about the signing. He just hasn’t been that consistent and/or healthy throughout his career. Would hate to see him turn from hero to zero. But hopefully this ‘bionic’ version of him holds up!
It’s only $$, considering the state of the farm system right now I’d rather gamble on him then trying to swing a trade right now.
True.
Exactly.. he is only 28.. will be 29 this entire season.. it’s worth the risk to control a power pitcher through his 29 to 32 year old seasons.. even a team option or two would have made sense for them if it could have been done for a $500k buyout..
What is the state of the farm system? Systems go in cycles (NY’s is already trending “down” as it graduates and/or trades guys, as they should do); Boston had one at the very top a handful of years ago, leveraged that into three straight division championships, a WS championship, and the “in their prime” core of the next 5 years. A year ago the system was virtually barren at the top; this year, the top was filled up a little, and there is promise further down. If they do a good job, the system will be much stronger in 1-3 more years, and if they do a bad job they will top out more in the 15-25 range overall.
Systems can rise and fall rather quickly in baseball. The worst situation to be in is to be a bad team with a bottom system, but otherwise you do what you can to make it all work.
We know he is pitching differently than he did earlier in his career, spotting the ball better rather than trying to just blow straight fastballs by hitters. Perhaps that new pitching style will take some of the pressure off of his arm?
I just would have liked injury protection either like the past Lackey deal or in time not spent on the DL.
They lack major league ready talent, and most of there highest regarded prospects are AA or lower levels. With Chavis’s 50 game suspension and Groome’s TJ they would have to trade quanity over quality.
It’s probably an overpay but not a back breaker(along the lines of D. Price). Hopefully he holds up for the duration. I still feel like he could end up being used as the closer or in a hybrid role during this contract. For now he slots in nicely to the rotation that has 3 lefties and(now) 2 righties.
It wont hurt as much as Corbins deal. I’d much rather do a shorter commitment. And I bet the results/numbers wont be all that much different.
Agreed 100%. If Corbin is getting 6yr/$140m then Eovaldi at 4yr/$68m seems much safer. It won’t kill them either way. Meanwhile, if Eovaldi can stay healthy, he has proven he can dominate and this deal will look very reasonable. Still only 29 on Opening Day, too.
Agreed. Hoping his recent success is a more accurate indication of his ability, plus gives Sox some insurance given Sale/Porcello FA after 2019.
Red,,, Cora managed him very carefully through pitch counts in Boston. He allowed him to exceed 90 pitches twice. Once in a dominent performance vs the Yanks and then in the WS in relief vs the Dodgers.
It was his first year back. The scary part is he pitched much better when he had 5 days or more in between starts. Was that due to the long amount of time off? Will his arm bounce back better this coming year?
TBD
Dewey if you read the Globe, Alex Speier had an excellent article about TJ surgery and those that had two. Eo’s doctor gave him a clean bill of health.
Well said. Pretty sure Sale & Porcello are gone after 2019, so this is an important piece.
He was really, really good in the post-season…
This is the most Yankee friendly contract since Sandoval. Mark my words, Eovaldi won’t pitch 150 innings plus in a season for the duration of this contract. I would rather have Anibal Sanchez at 1/5 and then eat mark funds for Sale or Porcello.
YAAAAAAYYY
Agreed.
Details are limited at this point, but interested to see if Eovaldi got a club option at the major league minimum at the end of his deal if he ever needed a 3rd TJ surgery
I would be absolutely thrilled if they worked in a lackey clause.
They might want 2 years at league minimum if he needs a 3rd tommy john lol. That’s no longer a 1 year recovery
The relevance is?
Ticking time bomb at this point and wish more teams included this clause for injury-prone SP. Don’t know if any pitcher in history rebounded from 3 TJ surgeries before, let alone had it thrice
The relevance is; I’m a student of the game who marvels at modern medicine. This dude located 102mph LASERS for strikes in the playoffs; never saw a Pitcher make as much money for himself, as he did pitching in the playoffs.
Didn’t johnny venters come back from his 3rd TJS this year? Or am I just making that up
Wow! Awesome. Did not kno. Looked him up
He did, and won Comeback player of year. But looks like he’s a 33 y.o left handed specialist at this point of his career.
Eovaldi is a 28 y.o. 100MPH+ flame thrower P who got a 4 year contract. Thanks Wiggy! Cool fact didnt know, this why u make a mlbtr folks
Good point.. just like they did with Lackey.. which gave him extra trade value at the end of his contract
What’s your personal best in DV’s?
FINALLY!! Got one right.
Looks like everyone did… haha
not everyone…damn it. lol
Ken making up for being beaten on most signings last year, he’s been killing it.
I think he had surgery last year, which is why he was a tad slow. Now he’s back and healthy and performing at peak levels.
We’re definitely getting the band back together now.
Meanwhile the Yankees accountants are telling the brass they’re cutoff.
Think of all the luxury tax savings.
Yankees are going to sign Harper or Machado still. Plus they will get either Britton or Miller. They aren’t sitting this one out.
Proof please…
the vhs player got the scoop from the bench
They’re on a mission from God!
Don’t forget Jake’s address was 1060 W Addison.
Correction: That was Elwood’s address. And I’ll save you the Googling — “That’s Wrigley Field.”
That’s right!
I thought this might happen. He had too strong a second half for the Bosox to let him go.
At least I won’t be shutout in the free agent prediction contest haha
Overrated. 4 years is to long for a guy that had 2 Tommy John Surgeries.
And here they come…
Didn’t take long did it?
Had the Yankees signed him the deal would’ve been perfect…
Dumb Yankee hater
Please don’t be one of those guys..Jesus H.
“Ah, another idiot.”
trying to positive: A signing!
But being realistic: I bet you he has a DL stint before the all-star break.
Lots and lots of players will be on the DL in that time period. Especially the way they have the 10-Day set up right now. They’re like built-in vacations. Teams use them pretty freely to rest players, especially pitchers.
Right…but we’re talking about a middle of the order bat. And I mean a month(s) long DL stint. Per his usual.
Sorry, got this thread confused with one for Josh Donaldson.
Awesome for how many years though he’s a great pitcher for the Sox
This was a no brainer.
Love it!!
What’s your guesses? I’m saying 3yrs/$51M
4/64
I’m guessing he had to get 4 yrs.
3/54
4/60 w/ club option
Appears to be 4/67.5. That’s steep.
Not for the Redsox, they have the money.
What’s the difference between a 4/67.5 and a 4/64 that was widely projected? Less than a mil per…. It’s the going rate for a middle of the rotation starter with upside. Arguably the highest ceiling besides Corbin at this point in his career of any FA. Perhaps you place him behind Keuchel but I think he’s more of a what you see is what you get at this point. There’s significant risk in Eovaldi but the Big $$$$ teams are the ones who should be taking them.
4 years? Wow. Maybe they got the AAV down by giving him more years? 4 years for this guy has trouble written all over it.
it never ceases to amaze me how some people act like it’s their own money on the line and not some billionaires
That right elbow is a ticking time bomb ready to go off. As a Yankees fan very happy he ended up going back to Boston.
Right. I”m sure you’d be upset had he signed with the Yankees.
All it costs Boston is money and they have plenty of it. He goes down, they get someone else.
Plenty huh well I bet Mookie, Xander, and Bennintendi will be glad to hear that.
Eovaldi’s elbow surgeon, gave him a clean bill of health this offseason and said, “I would consider him in the same category of somebody who has a healthy arm, and whatever worry I have about that player, I have the same or less for Nate.” (Quote via NBC Sports Boston)
But just keep telling yourself his elbow is a ticking time bomb. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
I get what you’re saying and agree he is healthy now but I also think he is a ticking time bomb. Anyone who creates the torque on his arm to throw 102 is putting his arm in danger of injury. Remember he had a healthy elbow twice before and needed TJS after injuring it. It could definitely happen again.
I’m not saying he’ll never need TJS again or it’s a guarantee that his elbow won’t blow out during his contract with the Red Sox, but he went about 8 years between his first TJS and his revision surgery, which is promising that his elbow will hold up during the life of the contract.
Your team has been squatting on a true medical “ticking time bomb” in Tanaka for years now. I can’t believe it’s been this long, but he was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL back in 2014, meaning that he’s been walking the tightrope successfully for 4 years now.
Eovaldi might get hurt, or he might not. We’ll see.
The NYY pitching are very old, very.
Yeah, Tanaka is practically a dinosaur at 30 while Eovaldi is quite a young man at 29. No one in that rotation is old except for CC and he could end up being their 6th starter at some point. If we’re going to trash the Yankees or bo Sox lets use facts. Too many mindless insults coming from both sides… I will say this, at least the Red Sox are willing to spend. NYY generates significantly more revenue and you can’t acquire everyone via trade. You’re running out of chips to use.
Misfit….. Thanks for your concern on the elbow. Very much appreciated.. As a Red Sox fan, I’m very happy Eovaldi ended up going back to Boston as well. Its always nice to have a guy around who can trow 100 and shut down the Yankees. Especially as a 5th starter.
Nightmare offseason for the Yanks so far, they refuse to break out the big money so players don’t want to play for them
Yep, another SP off the board. Maybe Sonny Gray isn’t looking too bad after all, lol.
Patience. They’ll sign Bryce Harper and stick his left handed bat between Judge and Stanton OF for the ages.
Who’s playing center?
No, who’s on first
hicks
voit
Aaron Hicks profile pic just popped up.
Hicks in center Judge in right and Bryce in left, need to get some actual pitching tho
Well played.
I thought what was on first.
Whats on second
I don’t know.
Maybe Popeye will play center too.
Third base!
Why is it a nightmare? Because they smartly refused to just throw money at their problems like they have in the past and hope they go away? I’m glad they didn’t go for six years on Corbin and I’m happy they didn’t just throw money at Eovaldi, who, for as long as I have seen him pitch, has been incredibly up-and-down performance-wise. They’re being financially responsible for once. There is still plenty of pitching on the market for them to get. I’d prefer Keuchel anyway to both Corbin and Eovaldi.
What did you say last week. Please Yankee fans be real…
I said the same thing on the article about Corbin signing. I was happy to see they stuck to their offer and didn’t go to six years, and I’m happy they didn’t try to outbid Boston for Eovaldi here. I’ve been saying for awhile now I’d prefer Keuchel because his pitching style will age well.
OK let’s take a look at that angle. Kuechel will be 31 in January, is being pursued heavily by the Phillies, has a better track record than Corbin..all these factors play into his price being just as high as Corbins, and his age and volatility is something to think about. You can almost bet the farm they won’t be signing Keuchel the way they’re operating these days. They’ll more than likely sign Happ.
And if it turns out the ask on the number of years is too much for Keuchel then I’m fine with the Yankees passing on him too. I don’t think they care about the money they spend as long as it’s on the right players. There was no must-have pitcher for the Yankees to get (in my opinion); there was no top-10 pitching talent that they’re missing out on in free agency. Corbin would have been nice, and Keuchel would be nice, but missing out on Corbin and Eovaldi doesn’t mean the Yankees offseason has been a “nightmare” as the original comment suggested. I’m fine if they want to go with Happ. We’re talking about a #3 or #4 starter at this point anyway.
Yankees are going to overpay for the Japanese kid now; who will go down sometime in August with an elbow injury.
I wouldn’t hang my hat on keuckel moving forward. Scouts have been saying for years he’s not as good as he is, they gotta be right eventually, right?
Keuchel is going to PHI
“He’s not as good as he is”
Wot
He keeps the ball out of the middle of the plate and keeps it down, so he’s able to get a lot of ground balls and he doesn’t rely on a power fastball to get outs. That’s what you hope an older pitcher will evolve into, but he’s already there, which would lead me to believe he’ll be very effective for a long time. I don’t know what the scouts are saying, but his results say a lot more than scouts ever could.
Cashman, Steinbrenner and Co. have you Yankees fan eating out of the palm of their hand. You really think the NYY need/should be operating like a middle market team? You’re running out of top prospects to trade away so Hal can keep squirreling away more cash. Missing out on Corbin was a mistake. You’ve got to open that massive checkbook. You’re the New York Yankees. You generate well over 600million dollars in revenue.
Missing out on a pitcher who relies excessively slider tops 91mph fastball without the track record you typically look for in $100M+ pitcher. Bonus: year removed from TJ. OK.
Rather have Eovaldi, roll the dice figured it out even tho his previous NYY stint was a failure classified with one word “maddening” and ended with TJ.
You think Michael Pineda was an “enigma”? Pineda’s got nothing on this guy, and I’d still take Eovaldi and 2TJ 101MPH fastball over Corbins max 91mph fastball and slider… And Eovaldi scares the hell out of me!! But at almost half the price of Corbin price I can take
XAB…… IMO the team that will be clicking their heels over Corbin signing with the Nats will be the Yankees. He isn’t worth close to 140M.
How is it a nightmare when it’s only the first week of December and the biggest targets are still out there? Yankees are being smart. 6 years for Corbin is too much. 4 years for Nate is probably too much too. They wait for the right deal and have no problem waiting it out. They rarely overpay these days
I’m still thinking they’ll get Machado
Trading for Paxton and (likely) dumping Gray are wiser moves for a team that is repeatedly burned by bad contracts. Landing Corbin would have been nice, but I like Happ in the range of 3/$36M much more than Eovaldi for the same, or Corbin for 6/$140M.
You really would like paying a guy for age 36-38 that much and years?
Bahahahaha!
If you get Happ for 3/36 that’ll be a relative bargain. But let’s not confuse JA happ for Patrick Corbin. You want a 36 year old #4 for the next 3 years go right ahead. If you want to beat the Sox, I don’t think happ is helping you out.
Nobody is saying Happ equals Corbin, or that he is the missing piece for NYY in 2019. But an aging Happ is clearly an upgrade over what NYY used at the #4/5 last year – Lynn, Loaisiga, Cessa, Gray, German. So yes, Happ would be an expensive back of the rotation piece, but will have an ERA under 5.00 and actually win some games.
NYY does need pitching, and while they should look at trades first, the contract that Happ will get from someone is likely to be more palatable than the contract Eovaldi just got, and with less risk than what Corbin got.
Please, let’s talk about it after they trade for Kluber and sign Harper, which is entirely possible. You rather have Kluber and Harper or Eovaldi and Corbin?
They did trade for, statistically speaking, one of the top 10 pitchers in the entire game for not a hell of a lot. So, you know…
How many holes would they create even if they could acquire Kluber?
Cuz the Evil Empire is over paying, the overrated Stanton.
Finally I got one right.
Its not a bad signing for Boston but if 4 years you have to guess that there is a club option on that 4th year for a pitcher that has had Tommy John surgery 2x already he is a risk no matter whom would have signed him because he has such a high upside but is so erratic he can look like bob Gibson one night and then ed Whitson the next.
Or they’re taking out an insurance policy on his arm so that ownership recoups a lot of the contract if he requires surgery again.
Good signing, well depending on the details ofc. I am guessing 3/54 with a vesting option of 15-20m.
I like being fiscally and financially responsible.Thats usually how smart individuals operate.
Thank you Red Sox for keeping him I didn’t want my Yankees anywhere near this guy, now hopefully Happ goes to the Phillies and then Cashman will be forced to go to the Indians and get one of their pitchers. I’ll take Kluber along with Kipnis or call the Blue Jays up and see what they want for Stroman.
lol!!! Yankee fans are precious!!
While he dominates u next year…
I can understand wanting Kluber (duh), but you’re happy about avoiding Eovaldi and yet are interested in pursuing Stroman? He’s terrific when healthy, but haven’t you seen the issues he’s dealt with in recent seasons?
Why would a team that may play the NYY in the playoff help them, and for who. They want an OF. who are they offering. Don’t need the error that the current NYY 3B & C offer-so those 2 are a NO, and Estevan Florial not going to be traded, Cleveland doesn’t want Frazier back- so who??
Last week some Yankees fans be like..Corbin is a guaranteed Yankee whatever it takes..This week some Yankees fans be like, he was overpaid, he only had one good year, too many years glad the Yankees refrained. Now it’s onto signing both Machado and Harper for those same fans.
It is true that he had only one good year and he got overpaid by the Nationals, If the Yankees gave him that same contract everyone would be screaming how stupid they are how they overpaid but since another team gave that kind of contract it’s ok? Ok sure keep it moving Corbin is a good pitcher but not for that kind of money.
Who cares about money when you win?
Not to mention you usually make more money when you win.
The nats really did not overpay for him all that much. A 125MM contract was expected…. They went 140 with 10 mil deferrred….. Yankees aren’t a team that should lose a guy for a little bit of money. I’m surprised Corbin and the nats weren’t agreeable to an opt out after say 3 years. That seems to be Washington’s best horizon to win a title and I personally would’ve preferred that if I could’ve shaved off a few mil off the guarantee but these are the kinds of hairs the Nationals didn’t split so they got their man.
You’re just jealous because Shohei signed with the Yankees
I didn’t know Ohtani really signed with the Yankees he must have been invisible LOL
You misspelled “Angels”.
What do Shohei and Corbin have in common? Think hard now! Hint: it has to do with the Yankees and assumptions made about both players that proved to be quite wrong. Did you get it? Yeah for you!!!
My 2c is head to Morton next if can get him reasonable Cereal. Agree with a few others on keuchel. Not a big fan of his, nor Happ’s and don’t think Happ will sign for less than 3/40m, which is way to much regardless.
Like I said in another thread they’re probably gonna spend a little more on the BP. I am also a no on any of the leftover FA starting pitchers. The farm is also barren to get get a decent arm in a trade. I gotta keep going back to that Stanton acquisition, and the trades since for my disdain. I’m more afraid at this point the Rays look better than the Yanks in 2019.
Exactly what I thought 4/60.
Where do you see 4/60? If you’re talking about the article, that is what MLBTR “guessed” Eovaldi would get. I think he’ll get more than that, but not too much more. Probably 4/66-70.
64, 68, 72 are good guesses assuming they like round numbers.
I prefer integers.
He is high talent, high risk. Watching him perform for the Yankees was frustrating, but good luck to anyone able to work back from 3 elbow surgeries. Maybe he finally figured it all out.
Glass cannon. Gonna hate him soon, Boston.
Somewhere, Darren Dreifort is reminiscing.
Postseason really pushed his value up. Prior to being traded to Boston and performing well in post season I bet he would have got something like 4/45
If he was never traded to Boston, he would’ve gotten something like a 1yr/4M deal. He wasn’t very good prior to the trade and Boston got him for nothing.
Actually he was pretty good for 5 or 6 innings with the Rays just about every start he gave up a lot of late runs against Houston and the Yankees that skewed his stats. I was skeptical of the pickup at first but when looking back at all his Tampa starts you could see he was getting healthy and pitching pretty darn good.
#4 starter at best. How do you get by with a 85 mph fastball?
Please tell me you’re kidding.
Who are you talking about?
Bad joke
espn is saying 4/67.5M
Ouch
Awesome signing
Glad it’s the Sox and not the Yankees!! When will he get the third tjs?
Stay classy bro!
Great signing for Red Sox, claims Joe Poppo Pies.
He’s had 3 surgeries already
Forever …… How about 2026…….
The deal is reasonable considering what starting pitchers are getting now in the free agent market. Corbin was overpaid for only one good year as Eovaldi who has had 3 solid seasons in his career. Hopefully the Red Sox view his as their closer instead of a starter, I think this would prolong his career and his elbow.
I hope not, they gave him starter money, he should start. If the best way to get value out of him in the last year is the pen fine but this contract means he is part of the rotation, a big part, when Sale and or Porcello leave next winter.
What makes you think they both won’t be signed? I can tell you I’m happy the Pom is gone!
They already have Price at $31m in the rotation, now Eovaldi at $17m. Sale will look for $30m+. Porcello is maling $21m and not likely to take a paycut. So I see no way they can go $100m for 4 starters and keep Betts, Benintendi, etc eho are musts.
Don’t forget the Mets and their pitching. The NL East is up for grabs.
What does the NL East have to do with discussion?
Perfect length contract for pitcher. Pitchers shouldn’t get more than 5 years. Attach all the options you want. The max deal should be 5 years. 4 years is perfect.
Good for him. He worked hard. Not easy to come back from all those injuries. Let alone pitch in the al east.
Corbin and Eovaldi coming off the board this early means a pretty epic bidding war for Happ, Keuchel, and Morton.
Not a bad deal considering this guy was pumping 102 into late October… seems like he reached a different level on the mound after being traded to BSox
God I hate Red Sox\Yankees moves and wasting my time reading through all of the stupid comments from BOTH team fans to try find the ones that are worth reading.
Someone says bad move- immediately “Oh (opposite team) hater” response is given! Someone says GOOD move we are going to win – Opposite team feels the need to comment negative.
Grow up.
CSP Why waste your time if you hate it?
Must suck to be you.
all of the starters available in Cleveland are better than eovaldi and patty. We had eovaldi we dont trust the 2TJ surgeries and half a season of success for that.
You Gone!!!
Joel Zumaya came back two arm injuries. The third broke his forearm? He was only 25!
He’s in the bullpen by opening day 2020.
Now we need to start giving Swihart daily workouts at 2nd base as insurance for Pedroia.
….so which glove does Swihart bring with him to the Hall of Fame?…….
Swihart has shown he’s a capable defender at multiple positions but his offensive output doesn’t hold any value unless he catches. The Sox for the reason of maximizing his minimal value, will run him out there as a catcher this season. I just don’t think 3 catchers does the team any good, considering offensively they all had awful 2018s.
I think Vazquez will surprise you this year and hit more like 2017. He rediscovered his right field approach after he came back. Swihart in my opinion needs more of a shot. When Vazquez was hurt he started to see action more than once every other week and results came. Wish they would move Leon but they wont. No reason they cant carry 3 catchers when one can play multple other positions and is a switch hitter and can pinch run.
I really don’t think of Swihart as a catcher, as much as a utility guy who can catch, a la Kiner-Falifa in Texas, As such, and given Cora is going to almost definitely pinch hit for his catchers during some games, I think he hangs around.
You could do worse…his defensive work is better than you might think. Again, in the days of 13 man pitching staffs, guys like that are pretty useful, and ya, switch hitting helps.
I love all 3 of our catchers. Leon is maybe the best game caller in the league. Guys love throwing to him. Vazquez has elite defensive capability. Swihart has too much talent to throw away. But this is the problem. All 3 of them are 1 good catcher. No matter who is in there, there always seems to be a part of their game missing. There were maybe 3 months where it looked like Vazquez was going to come around and then injuries derailed it again.
I just don’t think with 3 catchers any of them get in any rhythm.
Totally agree Bob and that’s how I wish the Sox would view him. But we have 2 utility guys when Pedroia is back in Nunez and Holt. Swihart won’t out produce them. He’s a guy who unfortunately takes up a spot on the roster but can’t squeeze into more then 2-3 games a week.
I think they should have considered putting Holt at 2b full time and let swihart try utility instead of Nunez, but Nunez can still be so productive that it’s risky.
We run out a 24 man roster because he’s on it. Its a tough predicament. He has potential value but no spot to build it.
I feel bad for Swihart. He’s a good kid and has taken this all in stride. It’s gotta be hard on him.
Blake Swihart hit 229 last year and you guys are talking about him like he’s Ben Zobrist. Get a grip guys
Swihart hit much better at the end of the year then the beginning when he wasn’t used for 10 days in row all the time. I think he hits if he is given a full time gig but no one knows for sure because he hasn’t been given a fair chance to this point in his career. Hopefully he will get a chance somewhere else because it seems that Boston is just more comfortable with Vasquez and Leon behind the dish.
How do they keep Swihart on the team if Pedroia comes back? With Leon, Pearce, Holt, and Nunex that gives them 13 position players. To add Swithart means they would only have an 11 man pitching staff. They don’t have enough guys that give them long starts to get through the season on that.
And you’re talking like Ben Z. can catch (he can’t), is some kind of wonderful defensively (he isn’t) and doesn’t make 12M a year (he does).
Swihart’s had far too few PAs to define his offensive parameters, and makes about 1M a year. No one denies Zobrist’s value, but Swihart has some too.
Agreed. This is my point from the start. He’s taking a necessary relievers spot but his talent has the front office too intrigued to let him go but too uneasy to give him a regular role.
I think in the end, a catcher is let go. I don’t see any return value coming back for Leon or Swihart and the Sox aren’t giving up on Vazquez just yet. Since the pitchers love Leon, DFA seems the logical and unfortunate destination for Swihart. Luckily the Yankees don’t have a need at catcher and are unlikely to profit from our failure. But someone I have a feeling is going to get lucky when they take the training wheels off and give the kid an every day job in an atmosphere he can learn and grow. A defending champion Boston roster isn’t the place for that.
I don’t think they dfa him I think they will still trade him and my guess is they will get something out of it but probably not much.
Would be interesting too see who brings back more Gray or Swihart. My guess is Gray, but not as much as fellow Yankee fans think.
Nunez will be productive If his knee heals up for him. It was a bum knee for him all season long. So, yes, Swihart should have been in there instead of him some games.
The market always depends on what people need. I think in the current market with the amount of teams that need pitching. Who gets rewarded more, the team that trades for Gray or Swihart is a more interesting question.
I think a fair argument could be made that the former has seen his best days while the latter has only up to go and the talent to get there if he can stay healthy and get on the field.
Swihart & JBJ to Mets for Thor.
That was after hitting like .150 until the second half when he got some ABs.
Now I’m definitely going to the video tape!!!
In the 2nd half Swihart had a .706 OPS, which is respectable if he’s solid behind the plate.
As a utility infielder, that’s a tough pitch.
His July was off the charts: .412/.474/.618 line in 14 games and 38 plate appearances. He also tore the cover off the ball in 9 games in the dominican winter leagues in 2017-2018 off-season. There is some evidence that with a consistent approach, he can be the player he was in the lower minors. He’s had a lot of trouble recognizing and making hard contact with major league pitching. But that’s hard to blame on him when he’s not getting consistent at bats against major league pitching. Even through the injuries to other guys and the utility abilities he showed, he only got into about 80 games and 200 PAs. How much can you sell a guy for when you won’t even give him more starts over Leon?
He also struggled in AAA, so I can’t say there’s any real evidence it wasn’t lightning in a bottle. He’s also 26 now. He’s not 23 anymore. But it does seem like the Sox and a lot of people believe in his talent and he looked impressive as a kid. Will be an interesting one to follow.
Fenway, if all three of them were released, no one would notice. The replacement couldn’t be any worse.
I want to see how he holds up over a full season. When they got to the World Series he was only at around 150 IP. Let’s see what he looks like when he gets to around 200 IP.
Good move for a team that is in win-now mode. If the Red Sox can plug the bullpen holes they are in good shape for next year.
The good thing is, they have enough quantity of arms, even if not quality, that Eovaldi can throw less innings or skip a start to monitor his workload. DD can really protect him by adding another quality bp arm as well as a closer.
But what this deal and the Corbin deal did was take the best 2 high upside free agent arms away from the Yankees and force them down the trade or Happ roads. Clearly that wasn’t their preference or Cashman would have done it already. We know how he rolls. Not to say adding Kluber or another great arm after Paxton doesn’t match and exceed Eovaldi, but they will have to lose some talent to do it versus just money. They aren’t getting something for nothing and their top prospect to get that deal done is in Seattle for a guy with almost as much risk as Eovaldi and I’d argue moreso moving him from Seattle to NY.
Trading Andujar and signing Machado resolves that talent loss but I’m not sold that the Yanks are sold on Machado. Everything I’ve heard lately is Phillies.
Right guy, right place, right time. I love the signing. Eovaldi deserved to get paid and I’m glad he did and the Sox were able to get it done without adding a 5th year or hamstringing their ability to retain some talent.
I look at this as more along the lines of what I expected Porcello to get before the Sox lost their mind and gave him that huge extension. Well done this time.
Another “L” for the Yankees
Stop being that guy.
You’re hilarious. The “L” is on the Red Sox checkbook
I think Vazquez will surprise you this year and hit more like 2017. He rediscovered his right field approach after he came back. Swihart in my opinion needs more of a shot. When Vazquez was hurt he started to see action more than once every other week and results came. Wish they would move Leon but they wont. No reason they cant carry 3 catchers when one can play multple other positions and is a switch hitter and can pinch run.
I hope not, they gave him starter money, he should start. If the best way to get value out of him in the last year is the pen fine but this contract means he is part of the rotation, a big part, when Sale and or Porcello leave next winter.
I’m not sure what Eovoldi will evolve (pun intended) into. Starter? Andrew Miller multi-reliever? Closer? All three at once?
Tampa taught us last year to reimagine what we call a pitching staff. And as always it’s more about the base quality of the pitcher than the “role” he has this week.
I can DEFINTLY see that day of a 6-man rotation, with one starter a day (his “throw day”) in the bullpen.
I am happy with this signing he fits in well the Red Sox have a solid starters they are going to go at least right up too the 246 million mark so there may be a little room left to add a bullpen arm but mostly I expect they are done and will let it ride from here and reevaluate at the trading deadline.
Bruin…. For the sake of a second WS shot the Sox will not let the cap sign in the way.
BTW, The Roster Resource number yesterday did not include Sandoval. Cots was correct. Sox are not around 240M.. Unless they can trade salary, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they go over the cap by the end of the Winter Meetings. They need a late inning reliever.
H2O I find that Cots is usually pretty good with salaries. If they are at that 237 mark right now I don’t think they will do to much more in the offseason.
I think they will go with what they have and see how it goes. The starters should be very good the offense will be great and the complimentary pieces in the pen should be solid. The only glaring hole I see is closer they don’t have a bonafide closer but I’m thinking they will figure it out.
I’m looking forward to next year and after that they will have to do some sort of soft rebuild. Doubt that a team with the Red Sox resources will be down for long especially as long as they have current ownership.
The Red Sox have to sign a closer. You cannot go into the season with that bullpen. You don’t spend 237 million dollars and decide enough is enough and save yourself another 10-12 and leave a gigantic hole on your roster.
They might but probably won’t be until later in the offseason. I’m guessing they wait the market out and go bargain shopping for an arm. They could always try Barnes not the best option I know but I have confidence DD will figure it out.
Nice way to class up the conversation.
Its not a horrible deal but I think the Sox would be better off using this money to retain guys like Sale. Eovoldi was great last year but he’s inconsistent and the long term health scares me
Eovaldi is a good pitcher with great stuff. If he can stay healthy and consistent it’s a great deal for the Sawks. But unfortunately that seems to be everyone on their staff not named Sale. It worked out fine last year though
I know he won’t be put in the closers role but it will be interesting to see who will perform better over their contracts, Eovaldi or Kimbrel when he signs.. I believe Kimbrel is seeking a six year deal but reality is he will probably get a 4 year deal around the same AAV as Eovaldi.
I’ll give Kimbrel a 6 year deal if he gets rid of that stupid vulture pose.
I think Eovaldi will be a closer sooner than not. I would not trust a pitcher with two TJS’s to stay effective as a starter for long. In a year or two, Eovaldi will be a full time closer, and that’d be good for his career in the long term too. And yeah, I think Eovaldi will be a better closer than Kimbrel as soon as he transitions, (at least compared to how Kimbrel will be when Eovaldi becomes a closer)
You go, John Henry, you go!
4 years for a player with significant arm injury history sounds about right.
You know Boston brass will be holding their breath every time he unloads that 102 mph fastball. As a Yankees fan I can tell you they have every right to be very nervous. Has all the upside in the world but with two Tommy John surgery under his belt in my opinion there is a lot more risk than reward.
He has terrible mechanics. You know how streaky he is too. Boston fans will buy into him suddenly figuring it out, but the Yankees and Marlins brass knew better.
He’s a much better pitcher than he was a few years ago. He’s only 29. Had a career best WHIP ((1.12), had career low walk rate (4.4%). Swing and miss on fastball is up from 15% career to 25% last year.
Glad the Yankees stayed away from both Corbin and Eovaldi. No way I would have gone more than 4 on Corbin or 2 on Eovaldi. And this was my opinion at the start of the offseason.
Red Sox will be kings of dead money. All they need to do now is give Kimbrel 6 years and it will make my offseason. Red Sox did what they usually do, sign guys due to emotional attachment. Eovaldi and Pearce were terrible signings and they will likely come home to roost sooner rather than later.
LOL, yankees fans are so butt hurt.
No Yankee Franks next October.
Boo hoo.
Yeah, I am upset lmao. You act as if they didn’t win 100 games with a ton of injuries and underperformers. Perfectly fine thank you
Lol. 4 on Corbin and 2 on Eovaldi? Keep playing at that level and You’ll be welcoming back JA happ and lance Lynn. You want to make your team better you’ve got to take a risk. Or you can keep getting spoon food from Hal and co how this is the way to go. He’ll appreciate all the extra money he’s pulling in from it.
fed**
Enjoy those $25 beers and $20 dollar hotdogs whatching what you think is the greatest team of all time.
Great comeback lmao
DH? Stanton/Sanchez? We are paying $23 mil a year for Stanton. Considering he likely has 6-7 solid years left. By then $23 mil will be what they are giving mediocre players seeing the value of players now. You do know JD can opt out after 2019?
If you do resign Mookie, THAT will be the largest dead money contract given.
Mookie Betts is a much better baseball player than Giancarlo Stanton ever was and ever will be. You may have a hard time accepting that reality but you’re likely going to be left with an unpalatable deal because you traded for a one trick pony who was owed a lot of cash. Please enjoy Stanton’s “good” seasons because it’s a foregone conclusion that it will go the other way long before the 10 years are up. He’s not opting out of that steal of a deal he has.
It’s great when people state feelings as facts. So entertaining.
Depends what mookie gets per year. If it’s 35-40m a year for 8-10, sure mookie is a far superior player, but in value, we will see
I don’t disagree w you Lastone. I’m by no means a Sox or Yankees fan but I think there’s a much better chance you get elite production from Betts over the first 5 of his contraCt. Stanton is still a very good player despite his obvious flaws it’s just that this is his prime. He’s half the player Betts is in his prime. Betts deal could certainly/probably will be bad also on the backend I just think he’ll generate tons of surplus on the front end of it that you’ll be able to live with it. Stanton? Not so much.
Mookie is dependent on another star being in that lineup with him, just look at his lone year after Ortiz left and JD arrived. He also doesn’t hit anywhere else but the leadoff spot, look at those splits also. And he didn’t do anything in the playoffs to boot. Guy is a numbers producer in a park that allows right hand hitters to produce numbers. He will be a $40 mil mistake.
Stanton will be a .260 35 100 guy for the next 5 to 7 years. At $23 a year i’ll take the $69 mil hit if he gets old at the end of that deal. Mookie will be entering his 30’s when he is signed……who will get the better long term value?
If Harper gets $30 for what he did last year you know Trout and Mookie will get north of $35.
JD was pissed and took less than what he wanted last offseason, and that deal was hardly a sweetheart one comparing what he was looking for. If he puts up MVP finalist numbers it would not shock me, especially with how slighted he felt by the Red Sox, for him to opt out.
Stanton’s already given you a wide range of outcomes/injuries over his career. He’s been anything but consistent. A younger Mookie Betts has never posted worse than a 4.9 fWAR season. Betts will not be 30 when he signs a contract. He just turned 26 years old. I’ll take my chances. Betts puts the ball in play and probably has the fastest hands in all of the majors. Any of these mega deals can go sour because you can only project out so many years with any certainty but if I was giving 10’s of millions To a guy 8 years from now Betts would be in my top 5 for sure.
Yea, Ryan Howard had numbers like that until he didn’t.
Hey Mathew want to know why Mookie has a down year in 2017? He had a a .268 BABIP. That was by far the lowest of his career, in other words, he was unlucky. It happens he had an above average BABIP last year and he is an MVP. It’s as simple as that.
As a Sox fan, I’m uneasy with this signing. The playoff hype is strong with Eovaldi. Further, his ‘epic’ bullpen appearance in the Series, in my opinion, is grossly overstated. He’s a pitcher, he was asked to pitch. He wasn’t working on the grounds crew and suddenly found himself a pitcher that day. Hype. Good for NE to cash in, but this has Dexter Fowler written all over the deal. Uneasy.
I love when the Red Sox and Yankees tie up huge amounts of money and dig deep into the free agent pool.. one the Yankees farm
Is barren like the Red Sox. It’s only a matter of time before the free fall happens
I love it when fans, including some Sox fans, feel the Sox Farm is weak.
I suggest Bene, JBJ, Mookie, Devers, Boggie, Vazquez, Barnes to name a few.
The Sox like most teams may not develop pitchers.
Michael Kopech brought the Sox Sale.
A top young pitching prospect brought us Kimbrel.
Very few, if any, Maj. League team can brag they have developed a strong rotation. Eovaldi came from a trade with the Rays for Jaylen Beeks a fine prospect.
I mean, it was strong, now it is weak. Once players are contributing at the mlb level they are no longer prospects. Do you not understand how that works?
4 years for Evoldi makes me happy as a Yankees fan. Dude hasn’t went 4 years without a significant injury in his career. (Sarcasm, that may actually be true. Just didn’t fact check it)
And not sure y every Yanks and Sox fan has to argue about crappy contracts. We’ve each had some bad ones in the last 10 years.
If Eovaldi keeps pitching at ~3.00 FIP, and can stay healthy, eventually he’s going to put up that big year. Heaven knows he has the raw stuff.
Obviously risky deal, but solid #3-4 starter for sure, should he be able to stay healthy!
I’ve seen a few people say risky deal, but where’s the risk? The Sox are risking that they have a 125-150 IP starter each year with (if you believe he’s coming around like most do) with a sub-4 ERA for $17 million per for 4 of his better years (agewise). I’d argue that performance is in the ballpark of or way better than most other pitchers who are paid around his salary. Leake, Kennedy, Duffy, Hill, Ryu,
Considering Samardzija, Chen, Hamels, Darvish, Cueto all make a few million more and I expect Eovaldi will have better results then 4 of those 5 if not all 5 (Hamels is the curveball if he repeats his 2nd half last season).
$68 million looks like a lot to us, but that’s a roleplayer for Boston. There’s so little risk it hardly bears mentioning. He WILL get injured. He also will give us a weapon that can be used out of the rotation or the pen when healthy in so many different capacities. He’s like a utility pitcher that you can pencil in as a strong 3 when healthy on most teams. In Boston he’s the 4. Risk means there’s something to lose. The Sox have a couple of nickels to lose in this deal (metaphorically speaking).
Honestly I think all of the obsession with saying Eovaldi is a “ticking time bomb” or that he’s ‘injury prone’ and won’t hold up is a bit overstated. His first TJ surgery was as a teenager. It’s not like he’s missed every other season since coming into the league. He just had TJ surgery. (And as most SP’s these days has had a handful of other 5+ start ailments) but all in all hasn’t really been an overly fragile pitcher.
If anything I think a guy who has proven he has worked all the way back from TJ surgery and is just over a year removed from it – is probably in better physical shape than the average ML P. The intense rehab process to come back strengthens the surrounding muscles and in my opinion probably sets him up to have a stronger core than the average SP in the league right now.
Furthermore – the real issue surrounding TJ surgery is “IF” a pitcher can come back from it. And pumping 102MPH fastballs in October I think settles any question as to whether or not he’s made a successful comeback (physically). For the most part as long as a pitcher makes it back – they ‘stay’ back so to speak. (A few exceptions like Harvey with Mets but otherwise most stay strong post surgery)
I think signing any pitcher (especially one who throws 100MPH) has inherent injury risks. but I definitely don’t see Eovaldi as having ‘More’ risks than any other pitcher out there — if anything I think he’s in shape to have less risks. I think this is a very solid signing and certainly a much better risk/reward deal than $160 for Corbin who’s really only ever had one ‘great’ season and doesn’t have anywhere near the ‘stuff’ Eovaldi does.
lastly I think signing Eovaldi comes with it’s own ‘insurance policy’ so to speak built in – in that if he does struggle to stay healthy or consistent as a SP – I think he could absolutely dominate as a reliever/CL — so there’s always that to fall back on which hopefully means even a ‘worst case scenario’ (excluding major/career ending injury) the contract won’t ever be an albatross for something entirely valueless (ie Felix Hernandez)
this doesn’t feel like an over-reaction or favor type contract, every seems to be okay about the terms. did he leave money on the table? probably
I doubt he left much if any money on the table. This was his high projection.
His high projection was based on thinking 4 or 5 teams would be involved. As it turns out, there were at least 10 teams at least doing due diligence on Eovaldi. The Sox gave him above his projection to solidify the deal, but this is definitely one of those cases where holding out could have made him an extra $10 million or lost him $30 million. He chose to be smart and take the offer that was on the table before the Sox went in another direction. As I said higher up, right guy, right time, right place, right contract.
I think this will not end up being a huge surplus value contract, but I do think there’s a chance Eovaldi lives up to his early expectations and becomes a strong #2 behind Price when Sale & Porcello are gone. If he does, #2 money is around $25 mil on big market teams. That would be a $8M surplus each year. Its a lot harder to imagine him falling apart and producing at a value of $30 million then it is to see him exceed $100 million in value.
Best guess though, we get 550-600 innings over 4 seasons of 3.75-4.25 ERA ball and chalk this up as a fair contract.
Is he being overpaid, likely but it seems like the price hat the market generated.
Eovaldi has incredible upside and is young. When he’s healthy and really on then he’s the kind of guy you hand the ball to for a big game. Add to it, he clearly can survive a major market like Boston and its spotlight. The downside is the key is he’s really only a great pitcher when he’s healthy and really on.
I figure it this way, if this was a team like the Royals or the Athletics signing him then it’s a major gamble and overpay. For the Red Sox it’s a minor gamble and at minimum you have a decent yet expensive back of the rotation starter who you maybe transition to the pen in his last season or two if you see him as needing that.
Personally, I’m happy to see him staying in Boston.
I think the problem is no one realizes how much salaries for back end starters have inflated for big market teams that want to win. The Yankees #4 is Sabathia He came back next year on a team friendly deal after holding them over the coals in 2013 to 2015 before slowly redeeming himself in 2016, 17, 18. But he probably could have found himself at an old age $12 mil if he looked. The Dodgers #4 is Rich Hill. The Nats just signed Corbin to be their #3 and are paying Roark probably close to $10 mil this year.
Unless you’re like the rebuilding/rebuilt Phillies and have an arb eligible guy like Velasquez at the 4, you’re paying $12-14 mil minimum for an OK #4 and teams, including Sox with Porcello are shelling out huge money for #3’s in recent years.
I think Eovaldi really shines if you paint him in the right light and avoid the large dollar sign in front of you.
I am very happy to hear this news.
Eovaldi is a class act.
Red Sox are a joke!! 67mm for a ticking timebomb. Way to go for a team to PISS away money. Hanley, panda. This will be an albatross contract just like price in a year. This team is going to go in a major downward trend within a year. They’ll be eating kfc and beer in the clubhouse in no time
I’m not a fan but they did just win the World Series.
There are fewer things funnier than a yankee fan screaming about how another team spends their money.
The Red Sox are the joke that just won the World Series pretty sure DD knows what he’s doing a little more then an angry, petty Yankees fan like you.
It’s Monopoly–Cashman and DD are playing with someone else’s Billions.
As a friend once said to me –“it’s not your money–it’s chump change.”
Hey yanks_aaronx3
Posts like yours are the reason, everyone comes down hard on any knowledgable Yankee fan who also posts about anything here.
Every team spends money like its water these days, makes bad trades, and hopes and prays they get reasonable value back for free agents or players acquired in trades.
Every year pretty much stands on its own….let’s see how things work when the games get played rather than rant and accuse….the Yankees and Red Sox’s fans will always be down each others throats but lets at least have a little decorum about it and admit when a good point is made. I think!
a yankee fan talking about overpaying bad contracts? thats the funniest !@#$ thing ive ever heard in my life
Actually 4 years for a pitcher with 2 tj surgeries is a overpay what happens if he hurts his shoulder again is there any coming back again. I’m not sure. But I wouldn’t be putting 68 mill anywhere near that to find out
Pretty sure his shoulder was fine up to this point since Tommy John surgery was for the elbow and he had that in his senior in high school and then again in 2016. His shoulder to this point, thankfully, has been fine. It’s a lot easier to come back from elbow injuries then shoulder injuries.
When did he have a shoulder injury?
Petty? How many other teams were willing to go 4 plus years on eov ? DD is a joke of a GM. Look At the team who just bought a championship now. No team is going 4 yrs grantee on post 2 TJ pitchers. They outbid themselves They will regret it. Delusional red sucks fan.
Stay classy!
no you’re not petty sounds like jealousy to me lol you are a yankee fan so please stop complaining about the red sox overpaying players because your precious yankees have been doing that for decades…oh and our bad gm just won us a ring…so theres that
Salary cap!
Ok I said shoulder. Should have said elbow. Sorry. But my point is the same. Soooo what if he has problems with his “elbow” again ?
I thought 67.5 sounded too stupid to be true. Knew it was prolly gonna be 64, 68, or 72.
This is the guy I was hoping the Red Sox would be willing to overpay to keep from an irrational “fan favorite” point of view. He could blow out his arm tomorrow and I’d live with this deal—that’s how much respect and appreciation I have as a fan for what he brought to the table during the World Series run. It would have been awful to see NYY sign him.
^^^^ ha ha. Is anybody really supposed to believe this ^^^^^^^^
Yes without a doubt. jcscott is making sense. BTW – in case you didn’t notice Eovaldi has incredible stuff and about 12 teams were interested but most realized he wanted to go back to the Red Sox and DD wanted him so it would have been difficult for anyone else to pry him away. $67.5M vs Corbin getting $140M is a good deal for the Sox. Only time will tell if he can stay healthy and if he does people like Sale and Price believe Eovaldi could win a CY. Stuff is that good. In some ways I think they are jealous.
There is no doubt he has great stuff but giving him 4 years after 2 tommy John surgeries is a bit much. And as you say there were 12 teams in on him but how many were willing to go 4 years and did anybody come close to 68 million And Jc Scott said he would gladly give him 68 million just for his World Series contribution is nuts
Signing any pitcher to a multi year deal has risk. Eovaldi has TJS in high school and then again in 2016. He was able to come back from both of those surgeries. He throws 100 so I’m sure he puts pressure on his arm but his medicals say his arm is fine. That doesn’t mean he won’t blow his arm out that can happen to any pitcher. Pitching is an unnatural motion on the arm. The other big question is Sale I’m wondering how injured he really is and he seems to run out of gas every year not really sure I want it to go the 30-35 million a year he will probably cost.
I am just so happy Eovaldi is back in Boston. He earned that money, he sacrificed his own health to help the team win. This is a well earned signing!