Nathan Eovaldi has drawn the early confidence of Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke.
Eovaldi, who’s coming off an injury-hindered 2019 campaign, reportedly put together a strong session Saturday as the Red Sox held their second day of the MLB’s Summer Camp at Fenway Park. The right-hander was the first starter to face batters since the team regrouped, and he impressed.
“The stuff was great,” the first-year Boston manager said regarding Eovaldi, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “The cutter was good, the slider, the curveball. Threw some really good split-fingers and the velocity was there on his fastball. He got what he needed to do today. Moving forward, we’re thinking his next outing will be an intrasquad game.”
“(Eovaldi) and Eduardo (Rodriguez) are probably the guys who are farthest along,” Roenicke added. “… He’s doing really well. His velocity is already up to where it would be if we were in the season. Right now, he’s really far along.”
Eovaldi said himself that he feels “great”, and believes he’ll be good to take the mound whenever asked. The Red Sox open their season against the New York Yankees on July 24 with Eovaldi and Rodriguez, who’s not with the team due to waiting on a COVID-19 test, the two frontrunners to take the bump.
“I’ll be ready,” Eovaldi said, per Providence Journal’s Bill Koch. “I feel great right now. I don’t have any issues whatsoever. It’s just going out there, keep building — we’ve got plenty of time.”
If Eovaldi can show similar signs to that of Boston’s World Series run in 2018, Roenicke’s confidence certainly will be well-deserved.
