That said, his high-octane heater - the centerpiece of a repertoire that also comprises a splitter, curveball, slider, and cutter - did still rank in the 70th percentile for velocity. Eovaldi is a hard thrower, and in order to perform at an optimal level he needs to pump gas. Moreover, as my colleague Jon Tayler pointed out when profiling Eovaldi for our Top 50 rankings, those frames came with lower-than-normal velocity. That Eovaldi returned to make two appearances in the final week was a positive sign - ditto that he looked solid in both - but at the same time, nine-and-two-thirds innings is nine-and-two-thirds innings. He landed on the injured list twice, first with a lower back issue from mid-June to mid-July, and again from mid-August to late September with right shoulder inflammation. After making 32 starts in 2021, his most since the ’14 season, he took the ball just 20 times this past year. Arguably the best pitcher on the planet when he’s able to take the mound, he did so just 15 times in 2021, and 11 times in ’22.Įovaldi hasn’t exactly been a pillar of reliability himself. Heaney likewise missed time in 2022, while deGrom’s health history is well-documented. Pérez and Heaney will be looking to replicate career-best seasons, while Gray has incurred multiple injured list stints in each of the past two years. Thanks to the additions, this is one of the deepest - and potentially among the most productive - starting staffs in either league. The trio of newcomers join a rotation that includes Jon Gray and Martín Pérez (back with the club after accepting Texas’ qualifying offer), with Dane Dunning, Jake Odorizzi ( acquired in trade from the Braves in November), and Glenn Otto serving as solid backup options. Lacking front-of-the-rotation quality, Texas finished fourth from the bottom among American League clubs in starting pitcher WAR last year. The cumulative $244 million expenditure was based on need. jumpstarted the starting rotation by signing Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million deal and Andrew Heaney to a two-year, $25 million pact. Earlier in the offseason, Chris Young and Co. It was their third ambitious signing of the winter. 15 player on our Top 50 free agent rankings to a two-year, $34 million contract. Last week, the Texas Rangers, a team that actually has been spending like a contender, inked the no. Given the uncertainty of their rotation - not to mention increasing pressure to spend like a contender, not a small-market pretender - the Red Sox bringing back Eovaldi would have made all the sense in the world. Boston had been a good fit for the 32-year-old right-hander, and the Chaim Bloom-run club needed him more than he needed them. When I was assigned to write about Nathan Eovaldi’s eventual free agent signing - this prior to the Winter Meetings - my best guess was that he’d be returning to his baseball home for each of the last four-plus seasons.
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