FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There seems to be little question that the Red Sox pitcher most antsy to get on the mound is Nathan Eovaldi.

"That's the one we have to watch, he's ready, like ready," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said with a big smile. "We have to slow him down a bit."

The uber-competitive Eovaldi's Major League pace has been anything but slow the last eight months after he came over in July from the Tampa Bay Rays. But unlike incumbents David Price and Chris Sale, this is the first spring Eovaldi has had to play "The Alex Cora Waiting Game."

Last season, his first as Boston's manager, Cora waited until mid-March before letting his starters enter Spring Training games. The tradition will continue this spring, as Cora tempers Eovaldi's impatience even as he appreciates his competitive fire.

"When he goes after it, he goes after it," Cora said. "We have to make sure he understands that we're preparing them for a long run, not for a month, two months, three months, so we have to make sure he understands, [and] he does."

Who could blame Eovaldi for wanting to take the mound right away and pick up where he left off? The Red Sox starter was on fire during the postseason, fueling the World Series run with a 1.61 ERA in six postseason games.

"That's probably the best I've felt, especially when we got into the playoffs and stuff. Mechanically wise, I felt great and on point," Eovaldi said. "A lot of my pitches were coming together at the perfect time. I'm trying to build off of that."

Eovaldi said his curveball was his key pitch in a postseason performance that endeared him to his teammates. The Red Sox front office also took notice and re-signed Eovaldi, who has come back from two Tommy John surgeries, to a four-year, $68 million deal in December.

The postseason run was nice, but Cora said that even without it, the Red Sox would have wanted to keep their valuable midseason acquisition.

"We wanted him back even before what he did in October, " Cora said. "He's a good pitcher, he's healthy, he went through his injuries and all that. We were pretty sure he was one of those guys we wanted back."

Eovaldi's back with the goal of getting better, and better means building off one of his biggest strengths -- throwing strikes.

"My biggest thing has always been the walks. I feel like if I limit the walks, then everything else is gonna kind of come together," Eovaldi said. "As long as I stay aggressive out there. That's always been my biggest thing, is just no free bases, stay ahead in the count and be aggressive."

Be aggressive and, for now, patient. Cora will keep Eovaldi at bay for the next few weeks, but once he unleashes him for live action, the manager will be excited to see the sequel.

"We found a few things late in the season that he put into practice, and we saw the results. We expect him to keep dominating. Stuff-wise, he's one of the best in the big leagues," Cora said.

"The way he pitched toward the end, he found out a few things about himself, and we learned a lot about him. He should have a solid season."

The waiting will be the hardest part.