Red Sox, Yankees add pitching help

The Red Sox obtained righthanded starter Nathan Eovaldi from the Rays on Wednesday for minor-league lefty Jalen Beeks.

The deal was announced less than 12 hours after the Red Sox’s main AL East rival, the Yankees, acquired reliever Zach Britton from the Orioles.

“I assumed there was a possibility, of course, especially where I am in my career and the way my contract was for this year,” Eovaldi said. “I was assuming that I would be traded, but as for what team it would be, I wasn’t thinking about that at all.”

Eovaldi can become a free agent after this season. He returned this year after having Tommy John surgery in August 2016, going 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 starts. He started 2018 on the disabled list after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on the same elbow in the spring.

Eovaldi, 28, is well aware of the New York-Boston rivalry, going 23-11 with a 4.45 ERA in 51 games with the Yankees in 2015-16.

“Those games are definitely exciting,” Eovaldi said. “Tension is always high, and it’s always a good series.”

Eovaldi has averaged 96.9 mph on his fastball this season. He has allowed more homers (11) than walks (eight) and has 53 strikeouts over 57 innings.

With the Yankees running second to the Red Sox in the AL East, they secured Britton, a lefty, to fill a variety of bullpen roles. But manager Aaron Boone emphasized that Aroldis Chapman would remain the closer.

“Chappy is our closer,” Boone said. “Having so many quality guys, that allows us to really preserve and protect them.”

Britton, 30, joins Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Chasen Shreve, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder and Adam Warren in a strong bullpen.