CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The news that Lance McCullers Jr. underwent Tommy John surgery and will be out for the entire 2019 season is bad news for the Houston Astros, and also, perhaps the Red Sox.
The Astros were already going to be in the marketplace for starting pitching, with two key members of their rotation -- lefty Dallas Keuchel and righthander Charlie Morton -- headed for free agency. What's more, the other two mainstays of their rotation -- Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole -- will be eligible for free agency after 2019, making it imperative that the Astros begin rebuilding their staff.
That could well result in the Astros putting on an aggressive pursuit of free agent Nathan Eovaldi, who grew up in the Houston suburb of Alvin, Texas - hometown of Nolan Ryan. During the ALCS when Eovaldi pitched Game 3 against the Astros, he recalled pitching in Minute Maid Park as a high schooler and talked about his roots in the area.
Eovaldi was already going to be in-demand, based on his postseason performance, with the Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves and other contenders in search of experienced starters. Now, the increasing likelihood that the Astros will be aggressive in the same search makes it even more problematic from the Red Sox' standpoint.
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