One former member of the Boston Red Sox is thriving in the postseason but for another club.
Boston acquired fireballer Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 and he quickly became a fan-favorite. Eovaldi helped lead the club to the 2018 World Series and remained with the club through the 2022 campaign. The two-time All-Star entered free agency ahead of the 2023 campaign and it seemed like the two sides could come together on a new deal but ultimately that didn't happen. Although that was the case, Boston reportedly offered Eovaldi a three-year deal in free agency, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
"In early November, the club elected to issue Eovaldi the one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer believing there was a legitimate chance he would accept it," Cotillo said. "In fact, according to industry sources, many around the industry figured he would take that deal because it would represent a raise (from $17 million in 2022) after he battled injuries (and logged just 109 1/3 innings) in 2022. He rejected both the qualifying offer and another multi-year offer from the Red Sox in November in an effort to test free agency. That, however, didn’t close any doors.
"In early December, with the free agent pitching market beginning to move, the Red Sox decided to get more aggressive on Eovaldi by offering him a three-year deal worth more than $51 million guaranteed, according to a baseball source. That offer came with a higher average annual value than what Eovaldi ultimately took from the Rangers (a two-year, $34 million deal with a $20 million vesting option for 2025 based on innings). The issue came down to timing."
With Eovaldi shining for the Texas Rangers this offseason, many have speculated what the Red Sox could have looked like if he returned. There have been many shots taken at the Red Sox for losing Eovaldi, although it sounds like Boston actually did make a very competitive offer and tried to bring the fireballer back to town. Ultimately Eovaldi would've helped the Red Sox in 2023, but if he decided not to sign on the dotted line then there really isn't anything Boston could've done.
It seems like everything has worked out for Eovaldi as he prepares to pitch in the World Series for Texas. Boston will add some hurlers this offseason and hopefully get back to the postseason themselves next year.
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