Boston Red Sox free agency: Top 5 landing spots for Nathan Eovaldi

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 18: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros during Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 18, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 18: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros during Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 18, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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New York Yankees (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
New York Yankees (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

It wouldn’t be MLB free agency without the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees outbidding for a player.

Unlike other teams on this list, the Yankees are a team very familiar with Nathan Eovaldi since he once pitched for them.

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Before leaving the team to sign a free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, Eovaldi pitched for the Yankees in 2015 and 2016.  He actually admitted he wanted to return the team given the direction they were going.  That could be a reason why the Yankees have jumped in the mix.

"“The team, where they were moving and going, I wanted to stay,” Eovaldi said in 2017, via NJ.com.  “I had a great relationship with everybody, especially Larry [Rothschild], working with him.  I felt like we were making good steps forward for my career.”"

Along with his comfort in pitching in Yankees Stadium, a reason the Red Sox rivals are interested in a reunion is because Nathan Eovaldi has pitched so effectively against them.

Not only was he good in the regular season against his former team, he delivered a dominant performance in Game 3 of the American League Divisional series between the two teams.  If you can’t beat him, might as well get him to join you.  In this case, re-join you.

The icing on the cake would be sticking it to the Red Sox.  As we’ve found out in the past from previous players who have swapped uniforms, Eovaldi could use the Yankees to drive up the price to remain in Boston.