Eovaldi keeps on evolving
Not resting on laurels after All-Star season
Nathan Eovaldi is a World Series champion, an All-Star pitcher and coming off his best season in the majors. But the Red Sox ace isn’t close to being satisfied.
He knows he can’t be. When the 32-year-old looks around baseball, he sees so many pitchers aging like fine wine. Max Scherzer comes to mind first. Then it’s Justin Verlander. The timeless, 42-year-old Rich Hill even joined his clubhouse this spring.
Eovaldi wants to be part of that group eventually. But he knows he needs to keep evolving in order to do so.
“I look at Scherzer as a prime example,” Eovaldi said of the 37year-old Mets pitcher. “Every year, I think since ’13, he’s somehow gotten better every year. Somebody like him with his ability, his pitches, the way he attacks and stuff. For somebody like that to get better when you think, ‘Oh, he had a great year that year.’ You’re not expecting him to get better and he does. For me, I try to do the same thing. …
“When you look at Scherzer and Verlander, and they’re both age-wise getting up there. Rich Hill. They’re still here doing it. … They’re here for a reason. They’re doing things the right way and they’re doing something right.”
It’s not just lip service from Eovaldi.
Fresh off his breakout 2021 season — in which he helped lead the Red Sox come within two wins of an American League pennant — Eovaldi went home and analyzed his season, like he does every year, and dissected areas for improvement. The focus ultimately centered on his slider, a pitch he was admittedly apprehensive about throwing to lefthanders.
When he first entered the bigs, Eovaldi’s slider wasn’t sharp and it was routinely crushed by left-handed hitting. And with the evolution of his splitter and curveball, Eovaldi felt like he didn’t need to go to it as much. In 2021, only 13 of the 402 sliders he threw were against lefties. That will change this season.
“I don’t like shying away from my pitches,” Eovaldi said. “If I can use something different with their swing, mix it in there, I think it’s going to help out a lot. …
“The slider was that one pitch I felt like was kind of inconsistent the entire year. I used it against righties because it’s safe and it’s going down and away from them. I never really used it to lefties and I feel like it’s going to be a new weapon for me.”
Eovaldi described this new version of his slider as firmer and shorter, which is what he wanted. When he met up with Red Sox catcher Connor Wong — who lives nearby in Texas — in the offseason to start working on it, the immediate feedback was positive.
“He’s like, ‘Yeah, it’s good. It’s sharper than the other one. I like it better,’” Eovaldi said. “So I was like OK, now we’re on the right page and now it’s just building the confidence and trust with it.”
That’s been a work in progress, but he’s getting there. When Eovaldi made his spring debut on March 18, every batter in the Rays starting lineup was left-handed, giving him a good starting point to evaluate the progress he’s made. He admitted he still had some hesitation then, but has gained confidence with the pitch in subsequent outings.
On a bigger scale, Eovaldi’s determination to get better more than 10 years into his career hasn’t gone unnoticed in the clubhouse, and is a shining example for younger pitchers on the staff.
“He’s an amazing example of continuing to get better and continuing to work no matter what he’s done,” said Tanner Houck, who’s entering his third season in the majors. “For him to obviously have a World Series under his belt, have an incredible year last year, he’s an amazing pitcher, he throws like 5-6 pitches. He’s a guy that could easily hang the hat on his head every day and just be like, ‘I’m good enough.’ But he doesn’t. He shows up, he gets his work done at an elite level. …
“He’s always looking for that next upgrade to add to the repertoire to grow as an individual and I really respect that about him.”
It’s yet another example of Eovaldi understanding his growing influence in the clubhouse. When he was traded to the Red Sox in 2018, the pitching staff’s leadership voices were already well-established with Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello. But after an injury-plagued 2019 season, Eovaldi became a pitcher the rest of the staff looked up to.
It’s a responsibility that Eovaldi takes to heart, and not only when it involves his own improvement as a pitcher. He’s taken a vested interest in his teammates, making it a point to join them for their bullpens and offer his opinion on what he sees.
“I’m not a big speech guy in the clubhouse,” Eovaldi said. “But I try to lead by example and just go about things the right way.”
His presence might be understated, but Eovaldi’s impact has been immeasurable since joining the Red Sox. He’s arguably the most important player for these 2022 Red Sox, and if he can keep getting better, that can only mean good things.
“The willingness to keep evolving and keep getting better is impressive,” manager Alex Cora said. “That’s why he is who he is, and he’s one of the leaders in the clubhouse because nutrition-wise and in the weight room and in the training room, he’s just like our shortstop, very consistent with it, and people follow him.”