I'm not arguing that scouts specifically said he was horrible. I'm arguing that they said he wasn't the pitcher they thought he was and weren't seeing him as an MLB starter until his "stuff" came back. I inferred the "horribleness." We had high hopes that he'd help the rotation last year. Now we aren't certain if he can help the rotation this year. He's already 26 and is running out of time.
I saw a few of his starts but am not a trained scout. Sometimes you have to rely on the opinion of others as they may have more understanding than you do.
You said his healthy lifestyle was an indicator that he'd have continued health. I just said the better indicator is that he almost often misses significant time during the season. It has nothing to do with what FA will be available.
However, FA's that may be a better bet than Eovaldi: DeGrom, Manaea, Nola, Quintana, Syndergaard.
Koss and Fitzgerald both have shots at getting cups of coffee in the next few years. I like Fitzgerald's skillset. He can play good defense all over the diamond and can hit a little. Could be the next Brock Holt type. Koss is a high floor/low ceiling guy. He's a MIF with some pop. We'll see what he can go at AA this year.
I think you hold onto him for the season no matter what. I just am not as sold on him being an MLB starter as I once was. The scouting reports on him from last year were not good, regardless of what the stats showed.
Also, Daniel Flores from the 17-18 class would be 22 today and would most likely be on the MLB roster if he didn't get cancer and die.
Guys from 18 IFA like Paulino, Bonaci and Wikelman are all decent prospects but are still far away and two of those guys are still teenagers. You don't expect these guys to just show up in BOS 2 years after signing. The previous 2 years of signings are still high school kids.
@alexspeier
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a ball to left-center for a double. He's consistently hit the ball opposite field this spring - noteworthy after he went from career-high opposite-field usage (27.8%) in 2020 to a career-low 19.8% in 2021.