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Its time to give Mookie Betts a 20 year contract.

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There are many great players around Major League baseball. Players of all shapes and sizes. Fast or slow. Sluggers or big on base guys. But there are no players like Markus Lynn Betts. Let me tell you one thing, that man is special. The moment he came up to The Show you knew there was just something special about him. He’s not necessarily that strong or that tall, he’s a smaller guy. He’s not Jose Altuve small, but he’s not a big guy. None of that doesn’t matter for Mookie.

WHY HE’S SO IMPORTANT

Mookie Betts is one of the best athletic guys i’ve ever seen. He plays in the toughest right field in baseball very well. Any ball hit in his general area is an automatic out. He has amazing fielding to go along with his strong arm. Mookie in right field is one of those situations where if he’s not playing, you notice. Don’t get me wrong now, I love JD Martinez to death. But whenever he’s in right instead of Mookie, there are several plays that go down that certainly would have turned out differently with Mookie out there.

Then comes his hitting. Its safe to say Mookie no doubt has the quickest hands in the game. You can’t pitch him inside, because no matter how inside you want to get with him he’s able to hit it. Not only is he able to hit it but he’s able to put the barrel on the ball which makes it extremely hard to jam him. He’s having a career year in 2018 hitting with a .339 batting average and a slashing of .432/.625/1.057 with 30 home runs. He’s also struck out only 86 times, which is one of the lowest in all of baseball. Pretty decent leadoff hitter i’d say.

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THE HUMBLE MAN

One of the things I love most about Betts is how humble he is. The last thing he would ever do is go around bragging about what he does and how good he is. In fact, he does the opposite. In 2016, Mookie Betts was the runner up for MVP. After the year he said that he may never have a year like that again. He caught some fire for that quote because he sounded like he he wasn’t confident. What everyone has learned since is that is just how Mookie is. If he ever talks about himself, its in a bad way. He’s almost too humble.

Betts has hit 30 home runs this year, thats enough for someone to be called a home run hitter, right? Not for Mookie. During the Home Run Derby, Jessica Mendoza asked him if he was a Home Run hitter. He said that he wasn’t and sometimes the ball “just gets out.” Alex Cora said recently during an interview that Mookie always fears he’ll lose his swing and start to struggle at the plate. But he just ends up going out there every night and making hard contact anyway. This is just who Mookie Betts is, someone who realizes that you can struggle at any point and you just have to stay humble.

Mookie’s had some huge At Bat’s this year, including the 13 pitch At bat that would result in a grand slam as you can see above. But on Thursday night in Yankee Stadium, he hit one that will forever be special and amazing. The Red Sox went into New York needing to win just one game in order to clinch the AL East. After falling in the first two games, they were facing a sweep. They were also facing the possibility of not being able to clinch in the bronx, which would be a real bummer. Mookie Betts had other plans.

ENDING THEIR HOPES

He would start off the game with a line shot that was about a couple feet from getting out that would end up being a double. In his next AB, with runners on second and third with 2 out, he would go the other way to drive in both runs to make it 3-0. His next AB would result in yet another double after the Yankees took the lead in the bottom half of the 4th, and would later come into score to cut into their lead and make it 6-5. His moment of the game was yet to come.

After the Red Sox rallied back to not only tie the game but take an 8-6 lead, Aroldis Chapman would come into the game in the top of the 8th. Devers would get a hit and Jackie Bradley would walk to put 2 men on. With 2 outs Mookie would come up to the plate with Devers at second and Bradley on first. Two pitches into the At Bat it would be a 1-1 count. The packed crowd at Yankee Stadium all hoping that Chapman can get out of this, keep the game close and see if the offense has one more rally in them.

Although this division race had been over for a good while now, the Yankees still had something to play for in this series. They were playing to prevent Boston from celebrating the division on their turf. That’s a big deal, and those Yankees players would be lying if they said they didn’t care if the Red Sox celebrated on their field. I know that if the Red Sox were in the Yankees position, the last thing i’d want is for them to clinch at Fenway. You can’t let that happen.

CLINCHING AT YANKEE STADIUM

So this crowd did indeed have something to cheer for. Those hopes were all crushed and the souls were sucked out of every Yankee fan as Mookie Betts would take a 1-1 slider from Aroldis Chapman and send it into the Yankee Stadium night for a 3 run homer extending the lead to 5. Sending all the Yankee fans home and putting the dagger on the division race. Giving the Red Sox their 3rd consecutive AL East title and their 4th in the last 6 years.

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Mookie Betts is just one very special player that the Red Sox are blessed to have. You better bet they are going to offer him a big contract real soon. If I any say in it, just give Mookie 20 years and be done with it. Sign this man to a lifetime contract.

 

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An Unexpected Hero for the Red Sox?

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The Red Sox bullpen has far and away been the biggest struggle of this team. Craig Kimbrel has been lights-out lately, which is a great sign. Ryan Brasier has come out of the shadows in 2018; putting up a mid 1.0 ERA in about 30 appearances since he got here. Bobby Poyner is looking more and more like a reliable lefty specialist every day and Brandon Workman has been very effective with a 2.33 ERA in 39 appearances. After those four guys, that’s when it gets scary.

Matt Barnes had pitched his way to a 2.25 ERA up to August 5th, but it would only go up from there. In the month of August, Barnes would pitch to a 9.64 ERA that would raise his season total to 3.39. Hitters were also hitting with an OPS over 1.000 against him. Not very encouraging considering the fact that he was looked upon as the 8th inning man for a little while. Then come Heath Hembree and Joe Kelly, two guys who are currently pitching their way out of the postseason roster.

After starting the season with a 1.73 ERA, Kelly has raised it up to 4.19. He put up a 8.31 ERA in June, only to put up an 8.38 in July. He had a much better August and attained a 1.42 ERA in 12.2 innings, with hitters only hitting with a .675 OPS against him. However, he went back to his old ways in September, pitching to an ERA over 8.0 again thus far. Heath Hembree, on the other hand, had only one good month. One. That’s it, and that was back in June. Besides that, his ERA has consistently been over 4.0 Not good. The bullpen certainly looks worrisome going into October. However, there is someone who is able to help out with this problem. An unlikely someone most would probably say.

Steven Wright Is That Man

Steven Wright pitched out of the bullpen several times this season before starting four games in the rotation. Through his first three starts his knuckleball was dancing, and he only gave up one run in 21 innings. After giving up ten runs to Seattle in his fourth start he went on to the DL with left knee inflammation. He would make a comeback at the beginning of September, and little did we know his role back on the team was much bigger than we thought. Steven Wright is now a late reliever for this bullpen.

Ever since Wright has returned, he’s had six appearances, pitching seven innings and not giving up a single run. He’s struck out six and only allowed five hits. It’s safe to say Wright’s knuckleball has been dancing. The only problem is that it could end up dancing too much for the Red Sox own good. Wright is what he is, a knuckleball pitcher. It’s nothing against Wright personally, it’s just the knuckleball in general. Just like Tim Wakefield at times would make you nervous.

The Wright Guy

I’m not worried that Wright will come into a game, give up a bunch of hard contact and get shelled. The problem is you can’t control exactly where a knuckleball is going to go. Him coming into a game for one inning gives off a little uneasy feeling for that reason. He may come in and walk a couple of guys if he’s wild. And those guys may be able to move up on the base paths with a pitch that the catcher can’t grab. The last thing you need is a runner on third coming home in a postseason game because of a knuckleball that ends up being a wild pitch.

I’m not saying that Wright shouldn’t be a part of this bullpen. I am a big Steven Wright fan, and I definitely think it’s an intriguing idea that’s worked so far. Besides his six walks, Wright has looked really good. He’s just going to have to avoid putting guys on base via the walk. If he’s able to do that, the Red Sox may have a lethal postseason weapon in their hands. A hero that you didn’t see coming.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Brock Holt

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The 2018 Red Sox lineup is absolutely loaded. Two MVP candidates at the top of the lineup in Mookie and J.D., a left fielder who’s hitting over .290 with a .372 on base percentage. One of the best, if not THE best shortstop in the game is Xander Bogearts, a man who’s having a career with an OPS not far from .900. Steve Pearce has an OBP of .400 and an OPS well over .900 since arriving in Boston. Jackie Bradley Jr.’s been one of the hottest hitters on the team over the last month. Mitch Moreland is having a solid season, and the list just goes on and on. However, there is someone on this team who doesn’t get as much love as he deserves. His name is Brock Holt.

Brock Holt first arrived onto the scene several years ago after he was traded from Pittsburgh. Holt turned into a super utility man, playing everywhere around the diamond at any time. In 2015, a year where the Red Sox were in last place, Brock had a career year. He would end up being voted in as the only Red Sox All-Star that season, which would start the “Brock Star” nickname for him.

In 2016, he had another solid season as a utility man, but then suddenly there was a problem. Holt started having symptoms for vertigo, which is a sickness that makes you feel dizzy and sick often. It affected the way he played and made it much more difficult to hit or do anything baseball related. There were times the last couple years that Holt couldn’t even track the ball while playing catch. It was that bad. Holt didn’t have a good year in 2017, and many wondered if he would be able to make the roster in 2018. Well, he did, and the Red Sox are glad he did.

Holt can play any position effectively. In 2018, Holt has played second base over 50 times, shortstop 20 times, and a combined 32 games at every other position. He has an OBP of .348 and an OPS of .718. Now here’s the thing: Holt certainly isn’t one of the top hitters when he’s in the lineup. He’s not someone who the opposing pitchers should fear when he comes up to the plate. He is what he is, he’s a solid guy to have on your bench to call upon to either play any position on the diamond, or in a pinch hit situation. And more often than not, he’ll come through.

Now that you see what he does on the field, let’s go more into what he does off of it. Holt is the ultimate cheerleader of this team. Anytime you see him during a game when he’s not playing, he’s dancing or smiling or just doing something to cheer his boys on. Whether its singing during rain delays or dancing in the dugout, Brock just always makes you laugh.

You also can’t forget about the awesome moment that takes place in the dugout every time J.D. Martinez hits a home run.

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Everybody loves Brock. All of his teammates and most of the fans. The smart ones, at least. He’s a super utility guy who can play any position. He hits pretty well and is a great presence in the clubhouse. He is the perfect guy for this team and only makes them better. The postseason is getting closer and the team is starting to figure out what the roster will look like. It’s hard not seeing Holt on it with what he means for this team. It only looks more and more likely we’ll be seeing even more of him in October, which is a great thing.

Chris Sale Is Making His Return, but Very Cautiously

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Chris Sale was pitching against the Orioles. It was his first start since coming off the DL and missing a few starts due to left shoulder inflammation. Sale wouldn’t disappoint as he’d strike out TWELVE Orioles in only five innings. He wasn’t going to be relied upon to go deep into the game. About one week later, news came out that he had to go back to another DL stint for the same reason. Sale and Cora both said it wasn’t too serious. Sale hasn’t pitched a game since that afternoon in Baltimore, but he’s finally returning… Sort of.

Chris Sale’s has a history of not being the same kind of pitcher come August and September. He kind of just burns out and doesn’t pitch the same way he did during the first four months. The Red Sox made a promise to change that this year. The plan was to limit his innings and make sure he doesn’t go deep into games when he doesn’t really need to be. That way, when September and  October roll around, he’ll be 100%. Without a good Chris Sale, you don’t have much of a shot in the postseason. Everybody knows it.

Sale’s injury was never too serious. Having a big division lead is a good luxury to have and it lets you do more things. Things such as putting someone like Sale on the DL. The team has to make sure he’s the healthiest he can be before he comes back. Now lets say the division race with the Yankees was a little closer. Sale himself said he would be pitching if that were the case. In reality, we really don’t know. Whatever the case is, Sale is going to be slowly brought back. His first game back will be Tuesday. He’s matching up against the Blue Jays and he’s going to be on a 40 pitch limit.

At the end of the day, its clear that Chris Sale is your most important pitcher on this pitching staff and just one of the most important players on the team as a whole. We’re talking about a guy who has an ERA south of 2.0 with over 200 strikeouts on the year. You need him starting games one and four of a five game series. He needs to be out there starting games one, four and seven of a seven game series. If you want to win in the postseason, you need him out there as much as possible. Its incredibly important that he’s as healthy as he can possibly be. He must be this way before you let him go out there without a pitch limit.

Alex Cora, Dana Levangie and the whole coaching staff have been doing a great job of doing so in building him back up. So the return will start on Tuesday and it will go from there. One thing is clear, if the Red Sox want to win a World Series title, Chris Sale has to be healthy. And you need to be willing to do whatever it takes in order for that to be the case.

It’s Time for the Red Sox to Do Something with Nathan Eovaldi

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Nathan Eovaldi started off strong for the Red Sox once he got here. He threw shutouts in each of his first two starts in Boston against the Twins and Yankees. He was looking like a great addition to the rotation. Skip ahead to September, and it’s not looking that way anymore. He hasn’t really had a good start since. His ERA has raised almost a full run in six starts ever since the shutout against New York. He’s not going deep into games, and he’s giving up lots of hits. With Eovaldi not looking like a starter anymore, it’s time to give him another role.

It’s time to move Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen. With him not being able to go deep into games, he’d be perfect for a bullpen role. He would be the perfect guy to come in late in a game to get outs. He doesn’t need to start a game off and go deep when you can just have him go a few innings. His pitch arsenal is a good one for a long relief guy too. He throws 99 on his fastball with a really good splitter.

This could start out in September, he could get a pretty good amount of innings from it. But the real task would be in October, when it matters most. He could come out of the bullpen in say, the sixth inning. He could get three to six or seven outs and hand the ball off to Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier or Craig Kimbrel. Or maybe he can come in and be a righty specialist against some big hitters. Whatever works. Whatever it is, you’re only adding another piece to the bullpen and you can never have enough arms over there.

Now I’m not saying Eovaldi would be some amazing untouchable reliever, but there is no questioning he and the team can benefit from a move like this. He would be a good piece added to a weak bullpen that can really only make it better.

Why Jackie Bradley Jr. Is One of the Most Important Players on the Red Sox

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There have been a ton of great hitters in the Red Sox lineup this season, hence the reason they have the best record in all of baseball. With Mookie, J.D., Bogearts, Benintendi and Pearce, this offense can and will haunt every pitchers dreams. There is however, a particular player in this lineup that doesn’t get enough credit. A man who is one of the more important players on this team. That man’s name is Jackie Bradley Jr.

I myself have been on board with JBJ from the start. But many people weren’t. He’s always been looked at as a guy who can field very well but can’t hit. The problem with him is he can really struggle at the plate. He performs poorly against lefties, and can go cold against anyone. He started out 2018 hitting well under .200, but it climbed back up at the end of June.

This was only the beginning of the JBJ redemption tour to the haters. In the month of July, JBJ hit .260 with an .801 OPS. Not bad, right? It would only get better. In the month of August, Jackie has hit .291 with an .861 OPS, and since the All-Star break he’s riding an .854 OPS. He’s climbed his average up to around .230 now and has an OPS over .700 now after having it below that mark for most of the season. He also loves hitting at Fenway as his numbers have been particularly better there this year. He’s hitting .276 with and OPS near .800 in 59 games in Boston.

As I said above, JBJ is one of the most important players on this team which is something most don’t realize. There is absolutely nobody else I’d ever want roaming around in center field than this man. If you hit any ball in his general area, forget it. You might as well just put your head down and do the walk of shame back to the dugout. Unless he misplays the ball on purpose, there’s about a 0.0001 shot he’s not going to catch it. He’s catching everything. His range is just off the charts. What’s the best part about everything I just said? The fact that I haven’t even mentioned his arm yet.

Up here is Bradley back in 2014 throwing a ball over the center field wall from behind home plate. His arm has only gotten stronger since. It defies the laws of physics. It’s just stupid. He throws guys out left and right on a nightly basis and can throw up to 103 mph, and pretty accurately too. I feel like we almost take for granted what he does in center field that we think its normal. You really start to notice how valuable a certain guy is when he’s not playing. I can’t trust anybody like I trust JBJ in center field especially at a place like Fenway. He is an absolutely privilege to watch every night and the Red Sox are lucky to have him.

Jackie Bradley Jr. may not be the best hitter on this dangerous Red Sox offense. But he is certainly no scrub and someone to take lightly. His hitting has only been improving all year, and if he’s not the most elite defensive center fielder in the game I don’t know who is.

It’s Time for the Red Sox to Tip Their Hats and Call Players’ Weekend Their Daddy

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One year ago was the debut of the MLB’s new promotion called “Players’ Weekend.” It’s a weekend where players can show their personalities off and put whatever nickname they want on the back of their jersey. The jerseys are different too, and consist of two of the team colors. The Red Sox have dark blue for the torso but red for the arms. I honestly think the jerseys are pretty nice and the overall idea of the Players Weekend is a very cool one. With that said, I want these jerseys cut up, burned, and to never be used ever again.

These Darn Jerseys, Man.

For the first Players’ Weekend last year, the Red Sox got swept by the Orioles at home. A year later the Red Sox went into this Players’ Weekend looking strong. This team has the best record in baseball and had just come off of taking two straight games from Cleveland after dropping the first two. David Price just had one of the best starts of his career to continue his redemption tour. They were going into a series against the Rays, at the good ol’ Trop. Things were looking up this time around. It didn’t go well.

The Series

The first game of this series was Hector Velazguez vs the Rays bullpen. Velazguez absolutely wet the bed by giving up eight earned runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings. The offense didn’t help much either and would only score three runs. That would end up being an occurring theme in this series.

Game 2 saw Rick Porcello take the mound. He went five strong innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out eight. The offense for the second day in a row didn’t show up, scoring only once. They would go into Sunday looking to avoid getting swept for the first time all year.

It wouldn’t happen. It would only just get uglier. Nathan Eovaldi certainly wasn’t sharp on Sunday afternoon, but he definitely didn’t have much luck on his side. Everything was just going the Rays’ way all weekend and would only continue to keep doing so on Sunday. The Rays just wouldn’t stop scoring. As far as the Red Sox offense goes? You guessed it! They did nothing. Scoring only one run they would lose the finale 9-1 and get swept for the first time all year. This was also the first time they lost a series since the June 29-July 1 series in New York. They went 10-0-4 in their previous 14 series until this weekend.

The Players’ Weekend Curse

Although this is all because of Players’ Weekend, you have to give credit to the Rays. Ever since starting out the season 4-13, They have played 16 games over .500 ever since. Their philosophy of the opener, not having a classic starting rotation has seemed to be working. It’s a good thing this was the final time this season the Red Sox have to play the Rays. They are a very young, loose, and pesky team that can be very dangerous as soon as next year.

But those darn jerseys. Players’ Weekend is cursed. The Red Sox just can’t win on this certain weekend. Its incredible. It’s like they put on these jerseys and they’re a totally different team. They’ve been outscored overall 45-7 on Players’ Weekend. Guys like Mookie Betts go 1-8, the pitching is abnormally bad, nobody is the same. It’s just ugly all around. At this point they just have to tip their hat and call Players’ Weekend their daddy.

Preview of the Red Sox last meeting with the Rays in 2018.

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After dropping the first two games against Cleveland, the Red Sox offense would wake up and storm back to split the four game series. David Price absolutely dominated on Thursday throwing 8 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts. Price is now 16-2 in his last 18 starts. Boston will now go face the Rays at the Trop. 

The first game in this series will most likely consist of Hector Velazguez starting once again with Sale being out. Velazguez has been a good reliable option to give you 3, 4 or 5 innings and handing it off to the bullpen. As far as the Rays go, they don’t have any scheduled starters for this series. As we all know they’ve been doing that bullpen game situation all year, so it will be interesting to see how Kevin Cash will match up against our starters this weekend at the Trop. 

Rick Porcello will toe the rubber on Saturday night. Porcello has a career 3.44 ERA against the Rays with 155 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP. Porcello has also pitched to a career 2.72 ERA with 80 Ks and a 1.12 WHIP at Tropicana. He has had overall success against the Rays lineup throughout the years and there are no signs of this changing. 

The matinee game will take place on Sunday with Nathan Eovaldi on the bump. Eovaldi has only pitched a career 24.2 innings against the Rays in 4 starts. He has a 4.01 ERA with 24 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP in those 4 starts. Before Nathan Eovaldi played for the Red Sox, he in fact played for the Rays, meaning he started several games at Tropicana field as part of the home squad. Overall, he owns a 2.97 ERA at the Trop. Even though he didn’t face the Rays lineup much there, its still good to see his success in that ballpark. 

The Red Sox have not struggled against the Rays this season unlike some other team in the AL East..(Yankees cough cough) Boston is 11-5 against the Rays this season, with 5 of those wins coming at the Trop in the 7 games they’ve played there. The last time the Red Sox were in Tampa, Hanley was on this team. Thats pretty crazy to think. This will be the last time the Red Sox visit the Rays this season and the last time the two meet in general this year. 

The Red Sox’ Biggest Threat in the Postseason

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As the Red Sox keep rolling on to the postseason, as good as they are there are always a few teams that can be a real threat come October. You might want to talk about the New York Yankees, of course. Maybe Cleveland with their great rotation and MVP candidates in Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor. You also have the defending champs. But in this case there is one team that is particularly scary. A team I’m not so sure many saw them as a threat back in spring training. That team is the Oakland A’s. 

This is a team that has one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and are giving the defending champion Houston Astros a run for their money. The Astros have Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Charlie Morton leading their rotation. A former MVP in Jose Altuve, and electric players like George Springer and Carlos Corra lead the offense. Yet, they aren’t even the scariest team in their own division. 

Now I just want to make it clear that I actually had faith in the A’s when nobody else did. All the way back in January.

Let’s start with the offense. The Oakland offense has been overlooked all year, until now. Khris Davis, who has an OPS near .900 has been a beast this season. His 35 home runs are only three short of J.D. Martinez, who leads all of baseball with 38. Matt Chapman is looking more and more like the next Josh Donaldson over at third base. He makes plays nobody has business making and absolutely mashes at the plate. Stephen Piscotty, Marcus Semien, and Matt Olson are also sneaky good players who go under the radar. 

The starting rotation was a big question going into the year, as there was really no bonafide #1 ace to lead the staff. There still really isn’t any Chris Sale type guy on this team. It is five guys who are capable of going out there every fifth day and getting the job done.

Billy Beane made some moves by trading for Mike Fiers at the deadline, which was a smart move. They also went out and signed Edwin Jackson, the 34-year-old journeyman who can call the A’s the 14th team he’s played on in his career. That move has worked out as well. The man who leads the rotation, Sean Manea has had an overall solid season and in fact threw a no-hitter earlier this year against Boston, of all teams. He has legit stuff. Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill are the two other guys who have been very reliable in 2018. 

In my opinion the scariest part of this team is the bullpen. Before the year I predicted that the A’s bullpen would posses a sneaky good one with a bunch of guys that fly under the radar. It’s been exactly that. Except now they’ve added a couple more guys to make it an even better one.

Yusmero Petit has been a solid arm in that pen who can go more than an inning if needed. He has a 3.4 ERA in about 75 innings with a 1.05 WHIP. Lou Trivino, who’s getting paid less than $500,000 has a sub 2.0 ERA in 60 innings with a 1.07 WHIP and 65 strikeouts. Blake Treinen, the closer, is just straight filth. He has a nasty sinker and slider that has a ridiculous amounts of movement on it along with the high velocity on his fastball. Treinen has an ERA south of 1.0. Billy Beane decided to get a strong bullpen even stronger so he went out and got JeurysFamilia and Fernando Rodney. Two more solid guys at the back end. 

This is a team with a young core that is hungry. A team that has come out of nowhere. Nobody expected anything out of them this year yet here we are talking about this team having a real possibility of taking away the AL West division title from the Houston Astros. So as far as threats go to the Red Sox, sure, the Yankees, Astros, Indians, even Mariners are on the list. But there is no bigger threat to the Boston Red Sox than the Oakland A’s, and you better believe that. 

A New Role for Nathan Eovaldi in the Postseason

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One of the genius moves Dave Dombrowski made at the trade deadline was to acquire more starter pitching depth. And that he did. Nathan Eovaldi has been an overall very solid addition to this Red Sox pitching staff. At the time he was traded to Boston, he had a 4.26 ERA. He was just recently coming off of an ugly start against the Minnesota Twins, giving up eight earned runs and nine hits in only 2.2 innings. Not very good. And who was his first scheduled start for the Red Sox against? Those very same Minnesota Twins. 

Sweet Payback

Except this time he was going to be on the Fenway Park mound. So what would Eovaldi do his first time back up against the Twins? Throw seven shutout innings giving up only four hits while striking out five. His next start would be against the Yankees, once again at Fenway. He would throw eight shutout innings this time, giving up only three hits and striking out eight. After a rough start in Baltimore, he would get it back on track against the Phillies on Wednesday night. Eolavdi hurled five solid innings, giving up one earned run on seven hits, while striking out five. He would get his ERA down to 3.62 on the year. 

Postseason Rotation

Now here’s the thing about Nathan Eovaldi. He’s a solid starter no doubt, especially for depth. He can give you a good chance to win most days. He can remain a part of this rotation until the postseason. However, after the regular season, he can still pitch. Just not inhis current role.  Right now, the postseason rotation looks like it a three-man with Sale, Porcello, Price. Although that leaves guys like Erod and Eovaldi out,  it does not keep them from pitching. 

The Red Sox should put Nathan Eovaldi in the long reliever role. He would be a perfect guy to come in if a starter flames out early. He can also pitch the innings leading up to Kimbrel at the back end, or even pitch the final three outs if the game isn’t in a save situation. 

With the trend  in the postseason, you must have some reliable arms in your bullpen if you want to go all the way. And having a guy like Nathan Eovaldi in your back pocket can certainly be a dangerous weapon come playoff time. So keep him in the rotation for now, but once October comes around, Eovaldi will be a bullpen weapon.