The action is heating up in the American League East.
The Boston Red Sox have acquired right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Jalen Beeks, the team announced Wednesday.
The move comes just hours after the New York Yankees acquired closer Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles.
Eovaldi has a 3-4 record and 4.26 ERA through 10 starts for Tampa this season. The 28-year-old is familiar with the AL East, having spent his previous two seasons with the New York Yankees after beginning his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins in the National League. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the year.
Boston was in the market for another starting pitcher ahead of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, as Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright both are on the disabled list and Drew Pomeranz has struggled with injuries and inconsistency.
Eovaldi is enjoying a decent season for the Rays — his 0.982 WHIP would be a career-best, and he’s allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts — and should slot in nicely as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter in the Red Sox’s rotation.
He didn’t come cheap, however: Beeks was the 6th-best prospect in Boston’s farm system according to SoxProspects.com’s rankings and has 117 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings at Triple-A Pawtucket this season.
The 25-year-old even saw major league action for the Sox but struggled mightily, allowing nine earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in two appearances.
