MLB playoffs 2018: Why Yankees will have to pay up for Red Sox’s Nathan Eovaldi

by Felix Pantaleón

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi gave up two runs in six innings of work on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 (10/16/18), picking up the win in the 8-2 victory for the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Eovaldi also shut down the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will be a free agent after the 2018 World Series.

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Among the teams which could be in the running for his services are the rotation-deficient Yankees.

Eovaldi’s price tag continues to rise every time he takes the mound for Boston in the playoffs, per The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:

All we can say about the free agent-to-be right-hander is cha-ching! He will cash in. With a dearth of good starting pitchers in the free agent market, the Red Sox have to decide whether they will be one of the teams that gets involved in what could be a bidding war with Eovaldi. The Sox have to now compete with the pitching-starved Yankees, who will compete for Eovaldi as will several other teams in the league. Nobody is going to give him crazy money, but he’s likely earned a four-year, $60 million deal at least. He’s also only 28 years old and has put his Tommy John procedure behind him.

Ex-Yankees in the playoffs

Eovaldi gave up two runs in six innings of work on Tuesday as the Red Sox beat the Houston Astros, 8-2, at Minute Maid Park to take a 2-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Eovaldi shut down the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, giving up one run in seven innings of work as the Red Sox bombed New York, 16-1.

Eovaldi is no stranger to the Yankees, having pitched in pinstripes in 2015 and 2016. The Yankees released Eovaldi after the 2016 season while he recovered from his second Tommy John surgery.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.