Ken Rosenthal reports that the Tampa Bay Rays have traded starter Nathan Eovaldi to the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox will send lefty Jalen Beeks to Tampa Bay in exchange. Eovaldi has been scratched from this afternoon’s scheduled start against the Yankees, so if the deal isn’t already finalized, it will be soon.
Eovaldi is 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA but with an outstanding 0.98 WHIP and a K/BB ratio of 53/8 in 57 innings across ten starts on the season. It was a late start to the year as he returned in late May after missing all of 2017 following a second Tommy John surgery. Which, yes, is somewhat troubling, but it’s also the case that the Sox are only acquiring him for a couple of months’ use, with a very cheap $2 million club option for 2019 if they like what they get from him.
At the moment Eovaldi is still throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s, is showing better control than he did before his surgeries and has had a couple of super dominant outings. Given that the Sox’ rotation depth has been hurt with Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez going on the DL, there is certainly a need for him.
In Beeks the Rays are getting a 25-year-old Triple-A starter who, on the season, is 5-5 with a 3.40 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 117/25 in 87.1 innings. He was a 12th rounder in 2014 out of the University of Arkansas.