Boston Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi has established his worth in Boston

With an October to remember in helping the Boston Red Sox win their fourth World Series championship, pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is excited to hit free agency.

Without the heart and determination of Nathan Eovaldi, the Boston Red Sox may not be 2018 World Series champions.

After being acquired in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays at the MLB Trade Deadline, Eovaldi was up in down through the rest of the regular season, but in the playoffs, he won the trade for Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

His pitching performance also helped the team service the early playoff struggles of David Price and the injury issues of Chris Sale.

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In all, Nathan Eovaldi won the hearts of Red Sox Nation and definitely increased his value throughout baseball.

His iron man performance in Game 3 of the World Series alone was legendary and showcased his worth.  Now that worth will be tested on the free agent market.

While Eovaldi is excited to become a free agent, he also is not ruling out a return to the Red Sox.

"“I enjoyed my time over there a lot,” Eovaldi said last week on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.  “When I got traded over there, they made me feel right at home, right away.  And then doing everything I did in the postseason, the fans they’ve just showed me so much amount of love and support, it’s definitely going to be hard to leave there if it doesn’t work out.”"

While the price could be high to retain Nathan Eovaldi, the Boston Red Sox has to highly consider doing whatever necessary to keep him in Boston.  That could mean trading a contract like Rick Porcello since it is probable Eovaldi’s market is in the four-year $60 million range.

With teams like the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies possibly making a run at him, it could come down to where Eovaldi wants to be.  He already has had a stint with the New York Yankees and while a team like the Phillies are on the rise, he could value his time in Boston more if the money is close.

Not yet 30, what he showed in the playoffs both coming out of the bullpen and as a starter is worth the money.  The only question that surrounds Nathan Eovaldi is whether the money is worth the risk of a player who has prior Tommy John surgery and has battled inconsistency during the regular season.

Perhaps his playoff performance has cured the inconsistency part.  With Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez again in the mix for the 2019 season, Dave Dombrowski has to decide if having Nathan Eovaldi in that starting rotation will bring more value and winning than either Porcello or Rodriguez or possibly both.

Let the offseason begin.