Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Crew Pursuing Nathan Eovaldi
In the latest batch of Milwaukee Brewers rumors, the Crew is among the many suitors for former Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.
It’s not surprising to see the Milwaukee Brewers connected to some of the top starting pitchers on the market. Given their lack of dependable starters in the postseason this year, it makes a ton of sense to be looking for upgrades on the open market.
One of the pitchers who improved his free agent stock the most during the postseason was Nathan Eovaldi of the Red Sox.
What Teams Are Interested In Eovaldi?
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Brewers are among several teams with preliminary interest in signing Nathan Eovaldi. The other interested teams include the: Phillies, Braves, Angels, Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays, Padres, and Giants. That list is likely to grow as well.
Nathan Eovaldi
Not long ago, we wrote that Eovaldi could be the missing link in this Brewers rotation to take them to the top. He has an electric arm that showcased its durability during the 2018 postseason.
Despite having two previous Tommy John surgeries, his doctor says the elbow is as healthy as ever. That should dissuade some long-term concerns from MLB clubs wishing to sign Eovaldi to a multi-year deal.
Eovaldi is still young as he will turn 29 next February, which should put him in line for a nice long term deal. He’s projected to sign a contract in the four year, $60 million range. If he stays healthy, that could be an absolute bargain.
However, that would still be a large leap of faith for the Milwaukee Brewers. The last couple of times they signed free agent pitchers to four year deals didn’t really work out too well (see Matt Garza and Jeff Suppan).
How Realistic Are The Brewers Chances?
The Boston Red Sox are known to want to keep Eovaldi. They want to keep most of their World Series core intact going into next season, which means it’ll be difficult to pry him away.
Eovaldi also likes the Red Sox and is open to staying. I would guess that even if the Milwaukee Brewers offered Eovaldi more money than the Red Sox, he’d be willing to take the slightly smaller deal to stay with Boston instead of going to a new city. But it depends on how far back the Red Sox offer is. And with their financial powers, they probably could beat any Milwaukee offer.
GM David Stearns is nothing if not thorough. He’ll place a phone call on nearly every available player. But from the report, it appears this is more than just a phone call from Stearns. This is serious interest as he’s looking to bolster his starting rotation with some experience and some velocity. It’s no secret that the Brewers starters aren’t exactly flamethrowers.
Eovaldi would be a good get for the Milwaukee Brewers, and by the looks of it, David Stearns is hot on his trail.
There will continue to be more rumors throughout the offseason as insiders like Cafardo and many others use their inside sources to tell us about the happenings inside baseball front offices.