Boston Red Sox: Starting rotation questions arise pending David Price trade
After his trade to the Boston Red Sox from the Tampa Rays in 2018, the flame-throwing Eovaldi quickly established himself as a fan favorite because of his gritty performances and electric fastball.
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Eovaldi beat the Yankees in his second start with the Sox, going eight strong and giving up only three hits. He had a 1.61 ERA in the 2018 post-season, and despite losing the game, his bullpen-saving performance in Game Three of the World Series probably helped the team win in the long run.
Last season was a different story. Injured for most of the season, Nathan Eovaldi started a mere twelve games and went 2-1 with a 5.99 ERA, giving up 16 homers in only 67 innings pitched. With Price and Rick Porcello gone, Eovaldi slides into the number three spot in the rotation. Or does he scuffle into the third spot in the rotation? Baseball-Reference predicts the following numbers for Eovaldi in 2020:
4-4 (W-L), 4.79 ERA, 94 Innings pitched, and a 1.340 WHIP.
Eovaldi has never thrown 200 innings in his big league career, but he’s being paid as a starter (17M a year) and needs to stay on the mound and give the Sox at least 150 IP from the bump. If Nathan Eovaldi can avoid his yearly IL stint, the Sox rotation will benefit from the stability.