Nathan Eovaldi Expected to Miss Less Than 6 Weeks After Successful Elbow Surgery

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is reportedly expected to make a full return to pitching within six weeks after he underwent successful surgery Tuesday to remove loose bodies from his elbow, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

Eovaldi is off to a slow start for the struggling Red Sox, as he owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.52 WHIP through four outings this season.

The 29-year-old Eovaldi played a big role in Boston's World Series win last season. After the Red Sox acquired him in a July trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, Eovaldi went 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 12 regular-season appearances (11 starts) for Boston.

Eovaldi was even better in the playoffs, as he made six appearances, including two starts, and went 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 16 strikeouts over 22.1 innings.

After his strong playoff showing, the Red Sox signed Eovaldi to a four-year, $67.5 million deal.

Overall, Eovaldi struck out a career-high 8.2 batters per nine innings during the 2018 regular season after he missed all of 2017 because of Tommy John surgery. That number dipped to 6.9 in four starts this season, however, which hinted at a potential physical issue.

Boston's World Series title defense is off to a rough start, as it is fourth in the American League East with a 9-13 record. The Red Sox are also 29th in Major League Baseball with a team ERA of 5.62.

In addition to Eovaldi, Chris Sale (8.50 ERA), Rick Porcello (8.47 ERA) and Eduardo Rodriguez (7.20 ERA) have stumbled out of the gate.

With Eovaldi on the injured list, the aforementioned starters will be tasked with turning things around. Boston will also turn to 2018 playoff hero David Price, and Hector Velazquez could be in line for more starts after he split time between the starting rotation and bullpen to begin the season.