Nathan Eovaldi passed on the opportunity to return to the Red Sox on a one-year, $19.65 million deal Tuesday, though his time with the team isn't necessarily over.
The Red Sox had given both Eovaldi and shortstop Xander Bogaerts qualifying offers last week. Bogaerts, predictably, also turned down his offer, which would have represented a pay cut from the $20 million, multi-year deal he opted out of recently to explore the free agent market.
After two IL stints and having experienced diminished velocity in the final two months of the season, there was some thought that Eovaldi might accept the qualifying offer. Eovaldi made $17 million last year on the final year of a four-year, $68 million deal he agreed to weeks after the 2018 World Series.
Instead, Eovaldi passed on the deal, allowing him to remain a free agent. He and the Red Sox had been engaged in talks on a multi-year deal in the past week, but were unable to reach an agreement. However, an industry source indicated Tuesday that those talks will continue, even as Eovaldi hears what other teams have to offer.
Should either Bogaerts or Eovaldi sign elsewhere, the Red Sox will gain an additional draft pick after the fourth round in next summer's amateur draft. Having draft pick compensation attached as a free agent has the effect of putting a drag on his free-agent efforts since teams are understandably reluctant to forfeit picks. A team signing Eovaldi would have to give up either its second-draft pick or its second and fifth picks, depending on whether that team was a payee in MLB's luxury tax system.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have publicly called retaining Bogaerts their top offseason priority, though little progress appears to have been made toward meeting that goal. Bogaerts is bound to draw interest from a handful of teams, including the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies, who are led by former Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
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In recognition of the Tuesday 6 p.m. deadline to protect players from next month's Rule 5 draft, the Red Sox added five players to their 40-man roster: infielder/outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, pitchers Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy, infielder David Hamilton and infielder/outfielder Wilyer Abreu.
The Red Sox had only three 40-man spots available at the start of the day, forcing them to create two additional ones. They did so by designating two recent waiver claims for assignment: outfielder Jake Reed and catcher Caleb Hamilton.
Rafaela, Walter and Murphy were rather obvious adds for the Sox. Rafaela, 22, was chosen as the Red Sox Minor Player of the Year by Baseball America. He slashed .299/.342/538 while splitting time between High A Greenville and Double A Portland with 21 homers and 86 RBI and 82 runs scored. He's considered a plus defender at both shortstop and center field, with the latter his likely position for the future.
Walter, 26, was outstanding at Double A Portland, pitching to a 2.88 ERA while posting a WHIP of 0.78 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 68-to-3. After a promotion to Triple A Worcester, he missed time with a strained neck in the closing weeks of the season.
Murphy, too, was elite in Portland, with a 2.58 ERA and 1.00 WHIP before getting hit around at Triple-A (5.50 ERA).
Hamilton, 25, was one of two prospects acquired in the Hunter Renfroe-Jackie Bradley Jr. swap last offseason. He set a franchise record with 70 steals at Portland at a time when several rule changes at the major league level could encourage more base stealing in the years to come.
Abreu, too, was another trade acquisition, one of two prospects obtained at the trade deadline last August in the deal that sent catcher Christian Vazquez to Houston. Abreu posted a .834 OPS with 19 homers between the two organizations.
The Sox ultimately decided not to protect righthander Thaddeus Ward, one of their top starting pitching prospects, who rebounded from Tommy John surgery and recently pitched in the Arizona Fall League.