The Texas Rangers reportedly bolstered their starting rotation Tuesday by agreeing to terms with free-agent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. The 11-year major league veteran will sign a two-year, $34 million contract with Texas, pending a physical, with a third-year player vesting option.
Eovaldi is the second free-agent starting pitcher the Texas Rangers have brought onboard this offseason, joining projected staff ace Jacob deGrom as well as mid-rotation starter Andrew Heaney. Texas completely remaking its rotation in a matter of weeks has made many an MLB fan stand up and take notice.
While the names currently slotted as Rangers starters look rather good for Opening Day, Texas is running a risk when it comes to the durability of their new hurlers. Eovaldi, deGrom and Heaney have all had their share of injury concerns over the years. However, Eovaldi made 52 starts combined over the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Boston Red Sox.
The winter of discontent in Boston continues with Nathan Eovaldi's departure. Red Sox Nation is up in arms after the team failed to retain the services of one of the team's key performers over recent seasons. General manager Chaim Bloom is once again in the crosshairs as the subject of Boston angst.
The Red Sox lost two members of their 2022 starting rotation within a few hours on Tuesday. Nathan Eovaldi's departure follows news that Rich Hill agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston, which finished dead last in the American League East with a 78-84 record, now must find replacements for 40 percent of last year's pitching staff.
Nathan Eovaldi's career progression leads him to Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers will be the sixth team that Nathan Eovaldi has pitched for in his big-league career. An 11th-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 draft, Eovaldi was still recovering from Tommy John surgery when he signed with the Dodgers out of high school.
Eovaldi was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2012 as part of a package that brought slugger Hanley Ramirez to Los Angeles. It was the first of three times Eovaldi has been traded in his career. He also pitched for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays before being traded to Boston in 2018.
He endeared himself to Red Sox fans that season, providing clutch pitching performances during a postseason that led to Boston winning the World Series.