Boston’s Eovaldi out 6 weeks after elbow surgery

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi had surgery Tuesday to remove a loose body in his right elbow.

The arthroscopic procedure was performed by Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Boston said Eovaldi is expected to return to pitching within six weeks.

“I don’t want to give a timetable, but I think everybody knows around what it’s going to take,” Boston manager Alex Cora said before Tuesday’s doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers. “He should be fine when he comes back and ready to roll.”

A 29-year-old right-hander, Eovaldi had similar surgery on March 30 last year while with Tampa Bay and made his season debut May 30. He also has had two Tommy John operations.

Acquired by the Red Sox on July 25, Eovaldi went 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 12 games. He became a postseason star when he pitched six-plus innings of relief and threw 97 pitches in Game 3 of the World Series, an 18-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That preserved the rest of the bullpen for the Red Sox, won beat the Dodgers in five games.

The 29-year-old agreed to a $68 million, four-year contract and was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts this season. He pitched for the Yankees in 2015 and ’16.