Alex Cora Sheds Light On Red Sox’s Pursuit Of Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi

The Boston Red Sox are loading up as they reach the back end of the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season.

The Red Sox bolstered their pitching staff Wednesday by acquiring right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Eovaldi’s season totals aren’t eye-popping, but his numbers of late rank among the best in the big leagues.

As such, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the 28-year-old was a hot commodity on the trade market with the non-waiver deadline nearing. In fact, Boston probably was wise to act fast, as manager Alex Cora noted during his media availability shortly after the trade went down.

“From what I heard around the league we beat a few teams to the punch,” Cora told reporters, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

So, what’s the plan for Eovaldi? Despite Drew Pomeranz’s struggles in his return from the disabled list Tuesday, the left-hander is expected to stay in the starting rotation for the time being, per Bradford. That said, it appears Eovaldi soon will be thrown into the fire that is a contentious division race.

Now that he’s a member of a team with legitimate World Series aspirations, Saturday’s start against the Bronx Bombers at Fenway Park will be quite the test for Eovaldi.