The Rangers announced today that right-hander Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain. Fellow righty Yerry Rodríguez was recalled in a corresponding move.
Eovaldi, 34, started yesterday’s game but departed the game with groin tightness. He seemed unconcerned with the issue after the game, per Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today, though the club scheduled him for an MRI. It seems that a strain was found, though the current severity isn’t publicly known.
Regardless of how long Eovaldi is out, his absence will be a challenge for a Rangers club with plenty of rotation injuries. The club has long known that Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle would be out for significant portions of this year, as each underwent Tommy John surgery last year. Max Scherzer then required back surgery in the winter, which meant he was going to start the season on the IL as well. Since the season has started, Cody Bradford has landed on the shelf due to a stress fracture in his rib and now Eovaldi is following that group to the IL.
Subtracting Eovaldi will naturally hurt, as he has a 2.61 earned run average on the year. His absence will be doubly challenging for the club at this time since they are currently in a stretch of playing ten games in nine days, thanks to a scheduled doubleheader in Oakland this coming Wednesday.
For now, they can have Michael Lorenzen, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney start the next four contests. But they will need another starter to take Eovaldi’s spot in the rotation by Tuesday and then someone else for the twin bill the day after.
José Ureña is on the big league roster and has been throwing multi-inning stints out of the bullpen. He could be an option for a start or working as a bulk pitcher as part of a bullpen game. Jack Leiter and Owen White are each on the 40-man roster, though neither had good results in their previous call-ups this year. Scherzer had begun a rehab assignment but has been slowed by some thumb soreness and his timeline is unclear at the moment. Johnny Cueto recently signed a minor league deal but hasn’t yet appeared in official game action. Adrian Sampson and Shaun Anderson are stretched out at Triple-A but neither is on the 40-man roster at the moment.
NOOOOOOOO !!!
Long overdue! Anytime a team he plays for starts stinking up the joint he will take a vacation. Nothing new here. The big news for him was last year when he stayed healthy.
“Long overdue….he will take a vacation”…You do realize Nathan Evoldi has been instrumental in leading 2 different teams to World Series victories, right?
Stinking it up is an interesting choice of words considering the standings in AL west not to mention at this point in the season…
Wut?
Little Yerry is making a big mistake (Seinfeld reference)
Thanks for this.
He can golf with deGrom.
Why has Eovaldi had such a better second half of his career?
Maybe someone with more knowledge can add to this but in his MIA days he was a rarity in that he threw so hard yet didn’t really get a lot of Ks if I recall and his fastball seemed flat and very easy to hit. He has likely changed some things, along with learning to pitch.
Rishi – It’s a trick question.
Second half of his career 2018-2024 he has a 3.90 ERA in 704 innings.
First half of his career 2011-2015 he had a 4.10 ERA in 614 innings (can’t count the year he pitched hurt before his 2nd TJS).
So yeah he got a little better with age/experience, but not a lot.
He had only been above average twice then. He’s been an above average pitcher most years since including the last 3 in a row. Also has been pitching largely in tougher parks and facing a DH, which he didn’t do in MIA. His whip was always very high in past and now it tends to be very solid. His Ks have gone way up. He is better. I’m not sure they were saying second half of his career as an exact time frame either. Much of the era similarity is because of a disasterous 1/3 of a season. MIA is a great place to pitch. Far better than Boston.
Rishi – So now you’re comparing the number of above average seasons?
Okay first half he twice had a WAR greater than 2.
Second half he twice had a WAR greater than 2.
It all depends on how you want to look at it. He certainly had his two best years in 2021 and 2023, no question about that.
I’m a huge fan of his, it’s a shame the Sox forced him out of town.
I didn’t say it was my basis of comparison I’m just trying to show that he was largely a back end starter in MIA. It’s hardly the only thing I said. I pointed out the difference in park, not facing pitchers, and the difference in era (which isn’t a ton I agree but it’s how he got there that matters-he had front half of rotation years later instead of merely not hurting his average era with middling 4+ era seasons pitching in a pitchers park. .20 era points could be fluky and doesn’t look like a ton of difference until you take into account the parks and leagues prior to DH. This is what the era+ numbers I referenced by saying above average seasons shows. Also referenced the Ks which shows he is more dominant now. All you referenced was his era friend.
Rishi – All good, let’s hope he returns soon. He is great to watch in the postseason.
He learned how to pitch. He doesn’t have the stuff he once did but he knows how to approach hitters now and he never gives in.
Another IL surprise.
Leiter has been scheduled to start next week since before this injury, & all the Rangers writers thought his last start was actually pretty promising despite the results
Leiter will start one of double header games in Oakland. Maybe they let White start the other one. You can send down whoever pitches game one to bring the next guy up.
RIP bullpen
Basically a sacrificial lamb, but Rangers need to do whatever it takes the next stretch of games. It’s just a rough patch for the bullpen hopefully.
I want to see Winn get a spot start. He’s lights out this year with multiple plus pitches.
He’s been good but I don’t know if they want to risk messing it up by changing anything for him.
Why in the hell do we keep calling up Yerry? Dude is trash.