Dave Dombrowski has been adamant that the Boston Red Sox will soon be receiving reinforcements as they look to make a postseason push in the second half of the season. That appears to be true and at the moment, it seems that Nathan Eovaldi may be ready to return in the near future.
Eovaldi, who hasn't pitched since April 17 after having surgery to remove "loose bodies" from his elbow, threw live batting practice at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon. And Eovaldi thought the session went well and discussed how he was feeling afterward.
"My arm feels great now," Eovaldi said per WEEI's Rob Bradford. "I felt like the command was a little rusty but everything coming out felt really good. ... It’s been good. I felt like I transitioned a lot better than I thought I would. I haven’t been getting as sore as I thought I would, as well. I would say it has been pretty good."
And as for his stuff? Mitch Moreland thought that it was pretty good as well, and Eovaldi's 100 mph fastball, tough cutter, and curveball were a lot for the first baseman to handle.
"I swung against Nathan," Moreland said per Bradford. "I saw him throw a cutter and I'm like, 'Damn, how did I miss it? Then I thought, 'Oh yeah, he throws it 94 (mph).'"
It's certainly encouraging that Eovaldi had a solid session on Monday and it looks like he could come back soon. With the fifth starter position now solidified in the wake of acquiring Andrew Cashner, Eovaldi will have a chance to help solidify the back-end of their bullpen in a late-inning role. He could even end up becoming the team's closer.
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It's unclear when exactly Eovaldi will return, but he's certainly a player to keep an eye on over the course of the next week or so.
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