Any team signing pitcher Nathan Eovaldi will have to know there is draft pick compensation attached to the player.
The Boston Red Sox, his team until the 2022 campaign, extended the one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer to Eovaldi.
He did not take it.
“Nathan Eovaldi rejected the Boston Red Sox qualifying offer, via multiple sources. He remains a free agent,” MLB On Fox tweeted.
Nathan Eovaldi rejected the Boston Red Sox qualifying offer, via multiple sources.
He remains a free agent. pic.twitter.com/kXTONjqGG9
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 15, 2022
Eovaldi opted to test the market and look for a lucrative multi-year deal.
Whether that deals comes in Boston is unclear, but the team does have interest in bringing him back.
Limited to 20 starts and 109.1 innings because of injury issues, Eovaldi had a fine season in 2022.
He posted a 3.87 ERA with a 4.30 Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP.
Boston Is Losing A Good One
He wasn’t as good as last year: in 2021, he had a similar ERA, 3.75, but with a 2.79 FIP that led him to a 5.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) output.
Eovaldi is 32, has experience pitching in the American League East (usually seen as the toughest division for pitchers), was a World Series champion in 2018 with a great showing and made the All-Star team in 2021.
He is prone to suffer an injury once or twice per year, but his quality as a pitcher is unquestioned.
He should make for a worthwhile addition for a contending team as a mid-rotation stalwart.
As for the Red Sox, their rotation would be losing a valuable contributor if they can’t bring him back.
Left-hander Rich Hill and righty Michael Wacha are also free agents, so the 2023 outlook of the unit is not particularly encouraging considering that Chris Sale and James Paxton are high injury risks.
There is a lot of work to do in Boston.
