One of the offseason targets for the New York Yankees has a big fan in Alex Rodriguez, who has expressed his desire for Nathan Eovaldi to be back in pinstripes.
Nasty Nate back in pinstripes? If it were up to Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees would’ve signed Nathan Eovaldi the second he hit the free agent market.
With Patrick Corbin now off the market, the Yankees are looking to add another top-tier starter to round out their rotation. A-Rod definitely believes that Eovaldi being back in pinstripes would be the best move the Bombers could make this offseason.
“The key guy that can swing something is Eovaldi,” Rodriguez said on “The Michael Kay Show” as translated by Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post. “He’s 28 years old, he’s got No. 1 stuff, he can obviously pitch out of the bullpen. He’s got a rubber arm and maybe the balance [of the AL East] goes on who can land Eovaldi.”
That’s pretty high praise coming from one of the better ambassadors of the game of baseball in Alex Rodriguez. Of course, Rodriguez also got to see Eovaldi firsthand when they both wore pinstripes in 2015 and 2016.
Alex Rodriguez gives Nathan Eovaldi possibly the highest praise that you could give a man. pic.twitter.com/rqv14KkKVD
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 4, 2018
Eovaldi spent time in enemy territory this year after being traded to the Boston Red Sox after spending the first half of the season in Tampa Bay. Eovaldi impressed for the Sox, becoming a dominating pitcher out of the bullpen, specifically during the postseason.
Nasty Nate also had an impressive career in the Bronx before he lost his 2017 season to surgery and ultimately got dropped. Eovaldi put together a great 2015 campaign, going 14-3 while throwing 154 innings of work and helping the Yankees to the Wild Card game. His 2016 season was okay until he was lost in August due to injury.
Perhaps one of the most impressive things is how Eovaldi bounced back from injury and emerged as a great bullpen option with the Red Sox. That raises his stock far more than if he were just a starter.
Whether the Yankees seriously pursue Eovaldi or not is still to be determined but it seems like he has one huge fan in Alex Rodriguez.
