Red Sox Trade Rumors: Boston Lands Evaldi, Jalen Beeks Ousted With Dombrowski Loading Up For Potential World Series Run
The Boston Red Sox made a rather shocking move on Wednesday.
Per multiple reports the team has traded away starting pitching prospect Jalen Beeks away to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.
Eovaldi has been a starter for the majority of his MLB career but has had a pair of Tommy John surgeries that made him miss the end of the 2016 season, the interiority of the 2017 season, and the beginning of the 2018 season.
The 28-year-old pitcher has a 4.22 ERA in his career and has played for the Dodgers, Marlins, Yankees, and the Rays.
In 10 starts in 2018, Eovaldi has a 4.26 ERA in 57 innings pitched with batters hitting .225 off of him, a career high. Eovaldi has the second best WHIP .96 since May 30th in the American League and his fastball’s 97.4 MPH is the 3rd best in the Major Leagues.
As for Beeks, he has had an electric season with Triple-A Pawtucket with 117 strikeouts in 87.1 IP. He is rather short for a lefty, but he has a ton of potential and will have the chance to thrive in the no pressure environment that is Rays baseball with no real chance of winning.
Great return for Tampa, and for Boston since they have loaded up and traded away the farm system, the need to acquire a starting pitcher became necessary with injuries to Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez causing their depth to take a major hit. Boston is in a rather short championship window at the moment so the need to position itself correctly this year and the next couple of seasons to make a title run makes a move like this necessary.
The Red Sox lost out on Orioles reliever Zach Britton who went to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. It is unclear if they are still in the market for a reliever or will be content in finding one from within. Maybe flipping Pomeranz to the bullpen is an option for them.