Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi has undergone surgery to repair a sports hernia, reports Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. GM Ross Fenstermaker revealed earlier this month that the righty would be meeting with a specialist to determine the best course of treatment, and evidently, surgery was the conclusion they came to. Willson suggests that the Rangers expect Eovaldi to be fully recovered from the hernia surgery (and the strained rotator cuff that ended his season in August) by the time spring training rolls around, presuming he suffers no setbacks.
In addition to the rotator cuff strain, Eovaldi also missed a month earlier in the season with what was originally labelled a triceps issue and later diagnosed as posterior elbow inflammation. When he took the mound, however, the 35-year-old looked better than ever in his 14th big league season. He finished with a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts. Like his ERA, his xERA and SIERA were also career-bests. His velocity was down, but he compensated with pristine command, walking just 4.2% of the batters he faced, and he still did a phenomenal job of missing bats and inducing soft contact. If it weren’t for the time he missed, Eovaldi likely would have been a strong contender for the AL Cy Young, and even so, there’s a good chance he’ll earn some votes for just the second time in his career.
Eovaldi’s health will be paramount for the Rangers in 2026. RosterResource estimates that the team has about $45MM coming off the books this winter, but it doesn’t seem like ownership is ready to foot the bill for a high-spending offseason. When Bruce Bochy stepped down as manager, president of baseball operations Chris Young explained that the team would be focusing on youth moving forward, citing financial uncertainty. That certainly suggests that Texas won’t be making many major additions in the coming months. So, if the Rangers want any hope of improving upon a second straight mediocre finish and contending in 2026, the stars who are already under contract will need to put the team on their back. A full, healthy season from Eovaldi – especially the version of Eovaldi on display in 2025 – would go a long way for this team in 2026.
Why now? zero sense of urgency. who decides when the team or the player?
Why wait?
I’d love to see an answer. I was going to ask why they didn’t do this sooner.
Its hernia surgery not TJS, he ll likely be ready for Spring Training.
Players often exhaust other options and seek other opinions prior to surgery. They then have to schedule surgery, Id assume the surgeons most pro athletes see have great reputations and often gave loaded schedules. Im sure they also want to get affairs in order prior to the surgery.
If he will be recovered by Spring training so be it.Pitchers are in demand.He will get paid by some team.
Rangers have him signed for 2026 and 2027 so he got his bag already. But if he were a free agent, plenty of teams would be making offers this offseason.
Dude is going to be a medical expert just from the different surgeries.
Imagine being told as a kid when you grow up you can make millions playing a game you love, but you will eventually have surgery, maybe multiple, to repair muscles, tendons and ligaments while you play. Would you still love it the same, or look at it differently as a job. Probably not.
How many kids have you met who can even contemplate that level of injury or understand wear and tear on the body. I’m betting not many.
Furthermore the choice between potentially making millions playing a game and being idolized with the risk of bodily injury versus a desk job and wondering if you have enough in the bank if you suddenly get laid off… Can you honestly say you wouldn’t prefer door number 1?
How many kids worry about being laid off or even know what working is even like?
Furthermore you yourself can’t contemplate what it must be like to have multiple surgeries in your 30s.
Lame comment. Just like most of the useless Sabre metrics
Every profession has its inherent risks – Pro athletes, law enforcement, firemen, finance bro, window washers, pilots, etc. Yet new people keep going into those jobs.
This sounds like a you-problem.
What are you even talking about? LOL also I meant probably not look at it any different. But yall are complete tools, so keep em comin.
I have no problems. The ONLY thing you should be writing about is your team just LOSS and are DONE!
LETS GO DODGERS!!
We’re “tools” for having opinions different from yours? Lol. Sorry if MLBTR isn’t the weird echo-chamber you seek.
You wanting to be a window washer a child sounds like a you problem.
I’m not sure what the question is. 340M people in this country, and all 340M would probably do anything to be a professional BB player.
Really? Every single person? Amazing.
It was an observation not a question.
Is that a picture of Don Mossi who once pitched for the Detroit Tigers?
Nathan eovaldi needs to have a talk with kumar rocker about getting better results with diminished velocity.