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Veteran starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi has two World Series rings to his name, and he's on the market for any team interested in his services. Eovaldi has declined his player option with the 2023 champion Texas Rangers and will become a free agent, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.
Eovaldi hits free agency after another strong season for the Rangers. Though he couldn't make it back-to-back All-Star nods, Eovaldi still pitched to a 3.80 ERA and struck out 166 batters in 170 innings. His walks and strikeouts per nine were both better than his career averages, with the 34-year-old issuing only 2.2 free passes per full game while fanning 8.8.
After injuries plagued Eovaldi during the first half of his career, causing him the entire 2017 season, he has now made at least 25 starts in three of the last four years. Not coincidentally, that's coincided with his two career All-Star appearances and a 3.76 combined ERA in that time.
Eovaldi made $16 million in the last two seasons and had a vesting option for 2025 that kicked in near the end of the year when he passed 300 combined innings from 2023 and 2024. Had he not opted out, Eovaldi would have been in line to make $20 million next year. Spotrac pegs his market value at $24.9 million per season over a two-year deal — a mark that seems attainable for him in free agency.
Rangers remain interested in bringing back rotation anchor Nathan Eovaldi
Landry added in her report that Rangers general manager Chris Young said the club has “a lot of interest” in bringing Eovaldi back — and why shouldn't they?
Though 2024 did not go remotely according to plan for Texas as it looked to defend its title, Eovaldi was one of the bright spots. He anchored a Rangers rotation that struggled to find consistency. As a team, they ranked 21st out of 30 teams with a 4.35 staff ERA and 23rd as a staff with 748 strikeouts.
Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, two potential future Hall of Famers, combined to make just 12 starts this year. Scherzer missed all of April, May, and August and made only one start in September as he battled injuries in his age-38 season. DeGrom, meanwhile, spent the entire year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and returned to make three starts in September when the Rangers were already out of contention.
Andrew Heaney led the Rangers in games started with 31, but also went 5-14 while failing to give the team consistent length and effectiveness. Heaney is also a free agent, while Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle are due a combined $29.5 million next year. Mahle missed almost the entire season with an injury, and Gray led the rotation in hits allowed per nine innings with 9.4. He also had a 4.47 ERA.
