Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to undergo elbow surgery, likely to miss 4-6 weeks

Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi will undergo surgery tomorrow to remove loose bodies in his elbow, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

WEEI’s Rob Bradford hears that Eovaldi, who underwent a similar surgery with the Rays last season, will miss four to six weeks following the operation. In comparison, his 2018 surgery kept Eovaldi out of baseball for two months.

Eovaldi had been placed on the 10-day injured list yesterday before the major severity of the injury was known.

Through just two starts so far in 2019, Eovaldi allowed three runs on five hits (including two home runs) through seven innings while walking a pair and striking out a pair. His earned run average to this point stands at 3.86.

Eovaldi, 29, bounced around the majors with the Dodgers, Marlins, Yankees and Rays since 2008 before he was traded to Boston ahead of last season’s non-waiver trade deadline. In the offseason, he signed a four-year, $68 million contract to stay with the World Series champions.

At the Winter Meetings in December, Eovaldi spoke about his massive new contract, saying, “I try not to put any pressure on myself. The contract is what it is and I know I have to go out there and perform well, but I feel like, with the group of guys that we have, everybody kind of takes pressure away from that. You go out there and it makes it easier to focus on your job. Go out there and attack hitters, and go out there and win games.”

As the injury bug makes its rounds across Major League Baseball, the Red Sox are hopeful that the surgery will remove all loose bodies in Eovaldi’s elbow so he can return to the pitcher they knew he could be when they signed him in the winter.