Will the Boston Red Sox let another high-profile free agent sign elsewhere this offseason?
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is an unrestricted free agent after declining the Red Sox' $19.7 million qualifying offer last month. According to Audacy's Rob Bradford, Boston isn't making too much of an effort to re-sign him.
"Other teams are showing more interest in the free agent pitcher than the level currently displayed by the Red Sox," Bradford wrote Sunday, citing a major league source.
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SIGN UP HERE "Multiple clubs" have explored adding Eovaldi, per Bradford, including the American League East rival Toronto Blue Jays.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at MLB's Winter Meetings last week that there was a "mutual desire" for Eovaldi to return to Boston in 2023. The right-hander will turn 33 in February, however, and it's certainly possible another team gives Eovaldi more money and a longer term than what Bloom is willing to offer.
Ranking the top free-agent starting pitchers still available
If that's the case, the Red Sox will need to act fast to bolster their rotation. The New York Mets just landed highly-touted Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, while top targets like Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander are already off the board. That leaves Carlos Rodon, Chris Bassitt and Noah Snydergaard among the top free-agent starters still available.
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Eovaldi's departure wouldn't spark the same outcry in Boston as Xander Bogaerts' exit, but it would still leave a hole in the Red Sox' rotation that Bloom will need to fill for his team to be competitive in 2023.