The way Nathan Eovaldi finished his 2018 season, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise he reportedly has a ton of suitors clamoring for his services this winter.
But some teams’ pursuit reportedly isn’t without reservation.
In his Sunday baseball notes in The Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo — who reported earlier that Eovaldi has drawn the interest of at least nine teams — noted two factors that have led some teams to “hesitate” a bit on their pursuit of the right-hander.
“A few weeks ago we listed nine teams that have interest in Eovaldi,” Cafardo wrote. “A factor that makes some of those teams hesitate is the two Tommy John surgeries he’s endured, as well as the extra use in the postseason, which sometimes affects pitchers the following season. Will Eovaldi be immune from this? Eovaldi pitched only 111 innings during the 2018 regular season with Tampa Bay and Boston, but 22â…“ innings for the Red Sox in the postseason. But no one can deny his youth (28), velocity (capable of hitting 101 miles per hour), and the fact that nothing seems to faze him.”
Indeed, some healthy skepticism is expected given the above factors and the fact Eovaldi likely will command a lucrative, multi-year deal. Teams are going to want to make sure they’re investing in someone who won’t be injured through most of their deal.
That said, Eovaldi maybe has the most electric stuff compared to the other available pitchers, and showed he can be an absolute horse in the postseason. So while some teams may balk at the idea of heavily pursuing him, we’d imagine others probably won’t.
