Nathan Eovaldi Doesn't Mince Words On Red Sox's Front-Office Decisions

There seems to be some pent-up anger from Boston's No. 1 starter.

Could Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and his peers be losing the clubhouse?

Nathan Eovaldi used the club's decision to designate catcher Kevin Plawecki for assignment as a catalyst to air out his frustrations with the front office, seemingly dating back to last offseason.

"I felt like everything he has done for the organization and the player he is, it’s unfortunate to see him go, especially on those terms, with only three weeks to go in the system," Eovaldi told WEEI's Rob Bradford on Saturday. "I haven’t talked to Chaim or anybody else to get the true reasoning behind it. I was disappointed when I heard the news."

Bloom clearly wants a youth movement for the final few weeks of the season, but there were better ways to handle the decision. By letting go of Plawecki over the likes of outfielder Abraham Almonte (who has no business being on this roster) was a wild decision that further divided the front office and the clubhouse. Regardless of on-field production, Plawecki was a staple of the roster and clearly not the only player Eovaldi was upset to lose since the 2021 season concluded. 

"I understand it’s a tough decision, but you want to build a championship around guys like that," Eovaldi said. "Guys who are going to do what it takes to win ballgames and do whatever they have to do to help the team win, and I felt he was doing that. We had (Kyle) Schwarber last year, and Hunter Renfroe and certain guys like that. There are the guys that do the little things right on the field and off the field when you’re in the clubhouse. It’s hard to find a player who interacts with both pitchers and position players. Sometimes you can be a little divided. But when you have guys like Plaw, Renfroe, Schwarber. All of those guys were extremely good guys in the clubhouse.

I think sometimes that goes a little further than productivity or whatever on the field. To me that was a very difficult one, to lose a guy like him even where we are in the season in the last few weeks."

The Red Sox will get a major league tryout of promising reliever Frank German thanks to the departure of Plawecki, but at what cost?

More Red Sox: Prominent Member Of 2018 Red Sox Roster Contemplating Retirement