Red Sox pay up to keep pitcher Eovaldi
Indians sign Carrasco to four-year extension
While baseball’s star-studded free agent market for position players continues to take shape slowly ahead of next week’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, and while the deep market for relievers remains largely untapped, the shelves are quickly selling out of high-end starting pitchers.
On Thursday, the Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to a four-year, $67.5 million deal to retain right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, an indispensable and indefatigable part of the staff that led the team to the World Series title less than six weeks ago. Eovaldi, 29, has twice undergone Tommy John elbow surgery but made a strong comeback in 2018 and went 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA in six appearances (four of them in relief) during the postseason.
The Eovaldi signing comes two days after the Washington Nationals locked up the winter’s consensus top starting pitcher, lefty Patrick Corbin, to a reported six-year, $140 million deal.
While the remaining stock of available starting pitchers is relatively weak — headed by lefties Dallas Kuechel and J.A. Happ and right-hander Charlie Morton — there continues to be a strong presence of impact starters available in trades. Former Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber (Cleveland) and Zack Greinke (Arizona) are also being shopped.
Eovaldi’s return to the Red Sox was perhaps the biggest slam dunk of this winter, as the defending champs had few other items on their offseason checklist, and Eovaldi had endeared himself to the team and its fan base forever with his remarkable, sixinning relief stint - on one day of rest — in the Red Sox’s 18-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series.
Eovaldi’s dazzling postseason run undoubtedly added millions to his value, but he is not without risk. Largely due to his elbow injuries and surgeries, he has made 30 or more starts only once in his career.
INDIANS: Cleveland signed starter Carlos Carrasco to a four-year contract extension through the 2022 season. Financial terms were not immediately available.
The right-hander went 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA with a career-high 231 strikeouts in 30 starts last season for the AL Central champions. The 31-year-old Carrasco has developed into an elite starter, and the Indians wanted to lock him up for the future.
ROYALS: Chris Owings has agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with Kansas City, five days after the utilityman was cut loose by Arizona.
The 27-year-old Owings hit .206 in 106 games. He made 33 starts in right field, 10 in center, nine at third, eight at second and three in left.
TWINS: Minnesota reached a deal with free agent second baseman Jonathan Schoop, a major league source confirmed, and signed former Yankee infielder Ronald Torreyes to a one-year deal.
Schoop hit .233 with 21 home runs for Baltimore and Milwaukee last season. His one-year deal is for $7.5 million, plus incentives.
Torreyes played 41 games for the Yankees last season, hitting .280 with a .294 on-base percentage.
TRADE: The Philadelphia Phillies acquired left-handed pitcher Jose Alvarez from the Los Angeles Angels for right-hander Luis Garcia.
Alvarez was 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA and one save in 76 appearances in 2018, striking out 59 in 63 innings. Garcia went 3-1 with a 6.07 ERA in 59 games last season.
CUBS: Chicago closer Brandon Morrow likely will miss the start of the season following arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Nov. 6. Morrow led the Cubs with 22 saves and had a 1.47 ERA in 35 games.
The Cubs announced they hired Tommy Hottovy as pitching coach to replace the departed Jim Hickey.
BRAVES: Atlanta hired pitching coach Rick Kranitz, who served in the same role for NL East rival Philadelphia last season.