The Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers both appear to be pointed towards the World Series. Philadelphia won the pennant last October, while Texas hasn't been to the Fall Classic since 2011.
Either way, both teams are ahead 2-0 in their respective series. And both of those series are painful reminders for one team in particular; the Boston Red Sox.
Both the Phillies and the Rangers have pieces from Red Sox teams of the past who are helping out tremendously in the midst of their respective postseason runs.
Kyle Schwarber, Nathan Eovaldi's postseason runs are painful reminders for Red Sox
On Tuesday night, Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs as the Phillies cruised to a 10-0 win in Game 2 of the NLCS. Though he is only hitting .219, he has three homers this postseason and an .849 OPS in 32 at-bats. Schwarber spent the back half of the 2021 season in Boston after being acquired from the Washington Nationals, but was not retained in free agency.
For the Rangers, Nathan Eovaldi is continuing his mastery of the postseason. He earned the win in Game 2 of the ALCS on Monday, improving his record to 3-0 this October.
Eovaldi dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series and did the same against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. He allowed three runs over six innings against the Astros. The 33-year-old now owns an ERA of 2.29 this October.
Eovaldi blossomed into a frontline starter during his time with the Red Sox, having carried them through the postseason in 2018 when they made their run to their 9th World Series title. In 14 career playoff games, Eovaldi is 7-3 with an ERA of 2.87.
The veteran right-hander was a free agent after the 2022 season, but the Red Sox did not retain him, which resulted in him signing with Texas.
Clearly, the Red Sox could have benefitted from the presence of Schwarber and Eovaldi this year. Sadly, both are gone, and the Sox finished with a record of 78-84. That was good for last place in the AL East.
Chaim Bloom, who was responsible for letting both starts walk, has since been fired, and the Red Sox are now in the process of searching for a new President of Baseball Operations. A few names have come up in recent rumors, such as Toronto Blue Jays executive and former Astros and Tampa Bay Rays general manager James Click.
But with both Schwarber and Eovaldi performing well this October, it's a reminder of what could have been for Red Sox fans, who are wondering where the team would be had they kept these stars.