Nathan Eovaldi placed on injured list with loose body in his right elbow

Just when it appeared as though the Red Sox' starting rotation was beginning to stabilize, bad news hit Saturday morning.

The team announced that Nathan Eovaldi -- who limited the Yankees to one run on three hits over six innings Wednesday in New York -- was placed on the injured list, diagnosed with a "loose body'' in his right elbow, retroactive to April 18.

To take Eovaldi's spot on the roster, the Red Sox recalled lefty reliever Bobby Poyner from Pawtucket.

This is not the first time that Eovaldi has encountered this same problem. A little more than a year ago, recovering from a second Tommy John surgery, Eovaldi, then with the Tampa Bay Rays, underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body in the area and missed approximately two months.

It's unknown, of course, whether he'll require a similar procedure again, or just needs rest and rehab.

BSJ ANALYSIS



There was little indication that Eovadi was dealing with any physical issues on Wednesday. His fastball was regularly clocked at 98-99 mph and he demonstrated improved control (one walk) compared to his first three outings, when he was atypically wild, issuing 10 walks in his first 15 innings.

The move comes at a particularly bad time for the Red Sox, who are attempting to dig out from their worst start to a season in more than 20 years. The Sox currently sit at 7-13, seven games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the American League East.

Worse, they only Friday began a period that will see them play 20 games over the next 20 days without a day off, their longest such stretch of the season.

Eovaldi's turn is due to come around Tuesday, when the Sox are at Fenway as part of a 10-game homestand.

They have a number of options available to them, the easiest of which would be to insert swingman Hector Velazquez into the rotation on a regular basis. Velazquez has twice stepped into the rotation this season to provide spot starts designed to give the rest of the starters additional rest. In six innings, he's allowed just one run on three hits. Presumably, he could build up arm strength in order to go deeper into games.

At Pawtucket, Mike Shawaryn is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP and has performed the best of the starters at Triple-A. Shawaryn is not currently on the organization's 40-man roster, but could be added since there are now three available spots.

Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez is perhaps the most highly regarded starter prospect in the organization's upper levels and is 1-1, 1.80 after two starts at Double-A Portland. But it's doubtful the Sox would want to rush him to the big leagues and interrupt his development.

Another would-be candidate, lefty Brian Johnson, is on the IL himself, also sidelined with elbow issues and hasn't yet been cleared to resume baseball activities.