Nathan Eovaldi = closer now

Alright, so this is something.

It looks like Nathan Eovaldi will be the Red Sox closer when he comes off of the Disabled List now.

This might come as a surprise given the issues the back end of the rotation has faced. But then again, the bullpen has been a big problem too, so it's like the Red Sox are just prioritizing what problem is worse at this point.

This is probably not why the Red Sox signed Eovaldi to a four year $68 million contract. That's like Kimbrel money, and Eovaldi is probably no Kimbrel...

But you know what Eovaldi is? He is a body. He has not failed in the ninth inning yet. He's not Ryan Brasier. He's not Matt Barnes. And he's not any one of those other bullpen scrubs. He's the guy who pitched great in long relief during the World Series (and the team unfortunately lost). That's his legacy in Boston.

At this point, here's the take: how much worse could it get? The answer is: not very. Might as well give it a shot. It's hard to say whether or not this team is going anywhere. They could still win the wildcard. In theory, they could even still win the division. But it's not a 108 win season, and part of that has to do with the team's failure to address its bullpen issues.

Offseason complacency has led us to this point: Eovaldi having to pitch the ninth inning.

If it works out, that'd be great. If it does not, oh well.

John Henry ain't going to shell out more dollars for more pitchers at this point. The team already spends about $235 million in payroll plus luxury tax. It's insane.

Looking forward to seeing how this goes. It should be interesting. That's for sure.