The Texas Rangers continue to revamp their starting rotation in eye-opening fashion.
After adding Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Jake Odorizzi — and re-signing Martín Pérez — earlier in the offseason, the Rangers have reportedly signed starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.
Robert Murray of FanSided was the first to report the news on Tuesday evening, tweeting, “Free-agent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a contract, according to sources familiar with the deal.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan followed up with confirmation of the news and added details of the contract terms: “Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a two-year, $34 million contract that includes a third-year vesting player option, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Performance bonuses in the contract can take the total value even higher.”
Eovaldi — who turns 33 in February — had a 3.87 ERA and 4.30 FIP in 2022 for the Boston Red Sox. Injuries limited him to 109 1/3 innings pitched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hl1TTNWzGM
In 2021, Eovaldi had a career-best season that resulted in him being selected to the American League All-Star team. The right-hander put together a 3.75 ERA and 2.79 FIP over 182 1/3 innings pitched, and he was valued at 5.7 wins above replacement (WAR) per FanGraphs.
Eovaldi’s velocity — average of 95.9 mph on the fastball after 97-plus on average in the previous six seasons — was down a tick in 2022, but it’s possible that the injuries had something to do with that.
In November, Eovaldi rejected a one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox. FanGraphs ranked him as the No. 15 free agent this offseason, and ahead of starting pitchers such as Tyler Anderson, Kodai Senga, Jameson Taillon, Taijuan Walker, and Noah Syndergaard.
The Rangers won just 68 games in 2022, but they’re operating like a franchise that has championship operations. Last offseason they added Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray in free agency, and this offseason they’ve turned a bad starting rotation into one of the league’s most intriguing on paper.
We still need to see it all come together on the field, but don’t be surprised if the Rangers make a sizable leap into contention in 2023.