Nathan Eovaldi Undergoes Successful Elbow Surgery; Recovery Timeline Unknown

The Boston Red Sox will be without pitcher Nathan Eovaldi for a significant amount of time after he underwent elbow surgery Tuesday.

Manager Alex Cora wouldn't give a specific timeline for Eovaldi's return but said the procedure went well, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Monday the right-hander would undergo surgery to remove "loose bodies" in his elbow. While Eovaldi underwent a similar surgery during the 2018 campaign when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays and missed two months, he returned in time to pitch for the Red Sox down the stretch and in the World Series after Boston acquired him prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

WEEI.com's Rob Bradford speculated Eovaldi will be out four to six weeks, a similar recovery timeline to last year.

Eovaldi struggled in the early going this season and posted a 6.00 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 21 innings through his first four starts. He wasn't the same pitcher who finished with a 3.33 ERA in 12 appearances for the Red Sox in 2018 and served as a critical piece in their World Series victory.

He posted a 1.61 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in six playoff appearances, and Boston won five of the games in which he pitched.

Ironically, it was his showing in the one his team lost that stood out the most.

After pitching in both Game 1 and Game 2 in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was called upon in extra innings of Game 3 as Boston was running out of options. He pitched from the 12th inning into the 18th inning, allowing just three hits despite obvious fatigue.

While he gave up the winning home run to Max Muncy in the 18th, the Red Sox used the showing as a rallying cry and won the next two games.

Boston will have to wait to see if he can replicate his heroics in 2019 following this surgery, but it still has Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez to anchor its starting rotation.