Could the fire sale be coming?
With the Red Sox now skidding into last-place, they could be in position to deal away multiple veterans before the Aug. 2 trade deadline, especially those in the final years of their deals.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan addressed Nathan Eovaldi’s status in his deadline notes column Wednesday, saying the right-hander “has a chance at being made available, depending on how the Red Sox play this week.”
It’s been a putrid July for the Red Sox, who are 6-16 this month and have allowed a staggering 156 runs. This is their worst month in terms of run-differential since September 2012, when they were running out a minor league lineup with a lame duck Bobby Valentine at the helm.
The Red Sox have been piecing together a patchwork rotation, thanks to numerous starters battling injuries, including Eovaldi. He’s made two starts since returning from the Injured List, and gave up nine runs over 2.2 innings in Friday’s obscene 28-3 loss to the Blue Jays.
Still, Eovaldi, 32, could be a useful starter for a contending team down the stretch. He’s posted a 4.30 ERA this season in 14 starts, but is striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings.
Last season, Eovaldi had a 3.75 ERA in a league-leading 32 starts, and posted a league-best FIP of 2.79.
It’s hard to conceive the Red Sox making any postseason run without Eovaldi, especially with Chris Sale out indefinitely, But at 3.5 games back in the wild card with three teams ahead of them, contention may be too daunting of a task, anyway.
What a sad state of affairs.
