MLB Rumors: 5 Teams In On Nate Eovaldi

He's the best free agent pitcher left on the board, but with that draft pick compensation attached to him, Nate Eovaldi still hasn't been able to nail down a new (or old) home for 2023. 

While the Boston Red Sox are still hoping to bring him back into the fold, the latest reports have five teams in total in the hunt:

Los Angeles Angels

This is a team that's shown it's willing to take risks this offseason. They've worked hard to improve their pitching—the most pressing area of need—and the former All-Star Eovaldi certainly makes sense here. 

San Diego Padres

One thing we've learned over the past year: don't ever count the Padres out on anybody. Would losing a high draft pick for signing Eovaldi concern them? Doesn't seem like it, the way they've been operating. They're all in. Period. 

Texas Rangers

No one questions the Rangers' ability to spend, either. They've already handed Jacob deGrom $185M to head up their rotation, and they added Andrew Heaney as well. They could certainly look to add another top starter. 

Baltimore Orioles

According to Steve Phillips of MLB Network, "there's a thought that there's a team in the AL East that's in on him that is not the Boston Red Sox, and there are a lot of people who think that's the Baltimore Orioles." The O's are a team that came into the offseason looking to spend some money, and upgrading their starting rotation was one of the goals. With Kyle Gibson being the only add so far, there's still work to be done on that front. 

Boston Red Sox

It certainly makes sense for Eovaldi to return to Boston; this is the only team on this list that wouldn't lose a draft pick for signing him. And while there are recent reports that the BoSox seem to think they have depth in the rotation to the point where they'd consider trading one of their best starters, that seems like an odd concept. They need Nate back. 

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