If Eovaldi stays healthy — and it’s a big if — he could be linchpin to Red Sox rotation
Nate Eovaldi is entering his 10th season in the majors. At 31, his pitching repertoire is still as dominant as it was when he entered the league with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011. He can still maul hitters with a fourseam fastball that can hit the 100-plus milesper-hour mark. But like every season, staying healthy is his biggest question mark.
Before the COVID-19 shutdown last spring, Eovaldi said his goal was to make every start. To that point, he failed to make 25 starts or pitch more than 150 innings since 2015. The shortened season last year didn’t allow that, but Eovaldi still found himself on the injured list with a mild calf strain. He was a force, however, when he was on the mound. In 48⅓ innings and nine starts, Eovaldi posted a 3.72 ERA and struck out 52. His 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings was the best mark of his career. He turned his curveball into a legitimate put-away pitch, utilizing it 28.9 percent of the time and drawing a 44.7 percent swing-and-miss rate. Eovaldi’s evolution as a pitcher appeared to be taking shape.
He enters this year, again, with a lot riding on his availability. Chris Sale is recovering from Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of last season because of COVID-19 and myocarditis. Eovaldi said he’s a bit older, a bit wiser, and feels as if staying healthy is a little easier to tackle.
“I know my tendencies,” he said. “I know where I get sore and just being vocal with the training staff and letting them know if I have any issues that I can go to them.”
It’s still unclear how the Sox will utilize their starting rotation. Because of the limited amount of innings starters threw last year, the idea of a six-man rotation is a possibility. Limiting starters to a specific number of innings also is something the Sox might consider.
“I don’t know, really, what the expectations are going to be this year, if we’re going to have a limit. I’m not sure how it’s all going to happen. Going into the offseason last year, I prepared like I would any other season.”
Regardless, the Sox are going to need Eovaldi, who threw live batting practice Saturday.
“The ball was coming out of his hand really, really well,” manager Alex Cora said. “So good first step. His stuff is good, we just have to make sure he stays healthy throughout. We’re going to keep paying attention to what he does, and looking forward to seeing him compete this season.”
In the absence of Rodriguez, Eovaldi was the club’s Opening Day starter last season. It was the first of his career, one that was bittersweet because his family couldn’t be in the stands to see it. In what will be a regular 162-game season, the presence of Eovaldi becomes even more imperative. Sox relievers threw 278 innings last year (the most in the majors), the result of the depleted and underwhelming rotation.
Cora said Duran will see a lot of playing time with the big league club during the spring. After the minor league season was canceled last year because of COVID-19, Cora thinks it’s imperative that Duran sees as much live game action as possible to hone his skills.
Good first impression: Cora always has been impressed with starter Garrett Richards. He liked his stuff. He saw how it played last season when Richards was with the San Diego Padres. Cora saw how it played before that when Richards was with the Los Angeles Angels for eight seasons. Cora is now seeing it up close.
Richards has dealt with injuries, most recently undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. The Sox believe they can unlock something with him. Richards is a power arm with a high-spin curve. Cora likened Richards’s raw stuff to how devastating Eovaldi can be when healthy and just how dominant Eovaldi was in 2018 after the Sox acquired him from the Rays.
Physical day: The Red Sox’ position players are scheduled to take physicals Sunday … Eovaldi threw a live batting practice Saturday. Cora initially said Eduardo Rodriguez was set to face hitters Saturday, but got the schedule mixed up. Rodriguez threw a bullpen Saturday and will toss live batting practice Sunday. … The idea of moving Darwinzon Hernandez to the rotation continues to be raised, but Cora said the lefthander will remain in the bullpen for now.