Nathan Eovaldi was "positive" he'd be back with Red Sox

BOSTON -- Nathan Eovaldi joined the Red Sox via trade in 2018 and very quickly became an invaluable member of the organization. So when he hit free agency last winter, he and his agent were sure to keep the Red Sox abreast of all of the plans, offers, and negotiations that were taking place, with the expectation being that the veteran right-hander would remain in Boston.

The Red Sox ended up letting Eovaldi leave via free agency on a very reasonable two-year, $34 million contract. The Red Sox instead opted to sign Corey Kluber to a one-year, $10 million deal to fill out their starting rotation.

It obviously hasn't worked out that well for Boston, with Eovaldi earning an All-Star spot this year and Kluber posting an unsightly 7.04 ERA after being Boston's Opening Day starter.

And Eovaldi, visiting Fenway Park with the Texas Rangers this week, revealed that he expected to remain in Boston all along.

"I don't know. It just, you know, baseball's different, you know what I mean? Like, whether it's going in a different direction, trying to pick up other pieces things like that, we kept them in the loop with everything that we wanted to do, and it was just unfortunate it wasn't able to work out," Eovaldi said Tuesday before the Rangers beat the Red Sox 6-2. "But again, I'm happy with where I am now and everything that's been able to happen. I mean, you can't always control everything. Just kind of take what life gives you."

As Eovaldi saw things, there wasn't just a chance that he'd return to the Red Sox. There was a confident belief.

"No, yeah, I mean, I was positive that I'd be able to come back," he stated. "Again, we stayed in contact with everybody during the negotiation process, we let them know other deals that we were getting and just kind of trying to make sure that we kept that door open as long as possible. But it just came to that point where it was time to move on."

Eovaldi also stressed that he's happy that he ended up in his native Texas, where he's able to see friends from the Houston area more often, and where he's thrived this season. The 33-year-old will make his final pre-All-Star Game start on Thursday at Fenway, and he'll do so while toting a 10-3 record and a 2.64 ERA through 112.1 innings pitched -- an innings total that's tops in the American League. With the way things are shaping up, Eovaldi may even be the AL's starting pitcher for the Midsummer Classic, a moment that is sure to remind the Red Sox front office of some questionable decision-making from the winter.

And while Eovaldi is happy with where he ended up, he said he'll always think fondly of his tenure with the Red Sox.

"Obviously I miss it here. I had such an amazing time here in my career. Everything that we were able to do in '18 and then, you know, the personal little achievements that I was able to accomplish as well, Boston always has a place near and dear to my heart," he said. "Coming over in '18, being in that trade and being able to win the World Series. I was able to join a great team. They were already in first place at that time, and I knew coming over, the main focus was to win a World Series. But then after that, to be able to have some Opening Day nods and make an All-Star team, and just the little things I was able to achieve. I know we were close in '21 in the postseason, and it was unfortunate we weren't able to win it again and make it to the World Series. But, again, being able to put on that Red Sox uniform, it's something special."