Eovaldi threw five scoreless innings in a Cactus League start Wednesday against the White Sox.
Deploying mostly cutters and sliders, Eovaldi scattered five hits and one walk across his five scoreless frames while racking up four strikeouts. He has yet to allow a run through 10.1 innings this spring and boasts a 13:1 K:BB. The 33-year-old right-hander battled a side injury in the early part of camp but now looks fully ready to take his first scheduled turn in the Rangers' season-opening starting rotation. Texas signed Eovaldi to a two-year, $34 million contract in December.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Returns to spring rotation
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Eovaldi (side) allowed four hits and struck out five over 3.1 scoreless innings in Friday's spring start against the Brewers.
This was Eovaldi's second Cactus League start but first since he sustained a side injury at the beginning of the month. The right-hander's fastball, which averaged 95.8 mph last season, sat in the upper 90s, touching 99 mph multiple times, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. "I felt like I was ahead in the counts, felt like I used all my pitches," the pitcher said. "The only thing I need to work on doing better at is executing with two strikes." With Jacob deGrom ready to start Sunday, it looks like the Rangers' projected rotation is healthy as the regular season looms. As suggested earlier by manager Bruce Bochy, both Eovaldi and deGrom could be on restricted counts early.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Faces Double-A hitters
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Eovaldi (side) threw two innings against Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Monday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Eovaldi, who's been battling tightness in his left side, allowed a pair of hits and struck out two while landing 22 of 29 pitches in the zone. "It's definitely nice being back out there. I threw all my pitches and mixed everything in there. There were a couple times where I was 0-2 or 1-2 on guys and just didn't quite finish the pitches where I wanted to," the right-hander said. Eovaldi expects to be ready for the start of the regular season. He could get as many as three more appearances leading up to Opening Day.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Likely restricted early
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Texas manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged Wednesday that Eovaldi (side) is likely to be on a restrictive pitch count to start the season, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
The reports indicates a pitch count for both Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom (side) in the 75 to 80 range, which roughly translates to five innings. In that event, Dane Dunning, Glenn Otto or Cole Ragans could act as a piggyback option. Eovaldi recently returned to game action, firing off a couple of innings against Double-A hitters.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Starting Triple-A game Monday
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Eovaldi (side) will start the Rangers' Triple-A game in Surprise on Monday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Both Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom (side) will be in action Monday, but on the backfields of Surprise Stadium rather than in the MLB portion. Eovaldi has been out of action because of tightness in his left side, but the shutdown appears to be more precautionary than concerning. Assuming good health over the next few weeks, there's a strong chance Eovaldi is a part of the Rangers' rotation to begin the 2023 season.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Set for light bullpen session
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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Eovaldi (side) will throw a light bullpen session Wednesday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
While Eovaldi isn't throwing a full bullpen session, he'll be on the bump for the first time since experiencing some left side tightness last week. He's more built up than most others in camp because he had been preparing for the World Baseball Classic, so Eovaldi should be good to go for the regular season if he can avoid any setbacks over the next couple of weeks.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Yet to resume mound work
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Eovaldi (side) has not yet been cleared to resume throwing off a mound, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
The right-hander is making progress in his recovery from left side stiffness, though, according to Rangers general manager Chris Young. Young also noted that because Eovaldi came to camp more built up in preparation of the World Baseball Classic (he's since dropped out), the missed time isn't expected to be a significant setback. The Rangers remain optimistic he'll be ready for Opening Day.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Battling side tightness
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Rangers general manager Chris Young said Eovaldi won't make his next scheduled Cactus League start due to left side tightness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Young compared Eovaldi's situation to the one that plagued Jacob deGrom earlier in camp, though deGrom appears to have moved past the injury and should be ready to make his spring debut next week. Assuming Eovaldi remains on a similar recovery path as deGrom, his availability for Opening Day shouldn't be affected. Eovaldi pitched well in his Cactus League debut over the weekend against the Royals, striking out four batters over two perfect frames.
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Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Perfect in debut
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Eovaldi struck out four over two scoreless innings in Saturday's spring game against Kansas City. "I was able to throw all my pitches. The cutter was good, the split was good, the curve was my best pitch," the pitcher told Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News.
Eovaldi faced the six-batter minimum in his debut in a Rangers uniform. The right-hander was in strong form, hitting 98 MPH repeatedly and topping out at 99. Eovaldi threw just 19 pitches and tossed another 10 in the bullpen following his time in the game, which lasted no more than 10 minutes thanks to the new pitch clock. He's expected to serve as the No. 2 starter behind Jacob deGrom.
Eovaldi agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the Rangers on Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Eovaldi missed a solid chunk of last season with back and shoulder injuries, though he was able to turn in a decent campaign while healthy with a 3.87 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 109.1 innings. If he can break his norm and avoid the injured list in 2023, Eovaldi could provide a solid addition to the middle of Texas' new-look rotation. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, the contract includes a $20 million player option for 2025 that will vest if he exceeds 300 innings across the first two years of the deal.
Eovaldi declined Boston's qualifying offer Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Eovaldi turned down the one-year, $19.65 million deal in search of a longer contract. He should be able to find one, but his market will be affected by the draft-pick compensation that's now attached to him, as well as the fact that he's heading into his age-33 season and made no more than 21 starts in six of the last seven years, including just 20 last season.
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Red Sox's Nathan Eovaldi: Earns win in shortened game
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Eovaldi (6-3) earned the win Tuesday, allowing two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings with four strikeouts against Tampa Bay.
In his second start since returning from the injured list and last start of the season, Eovaldi tossed five scoreless innings on just 64 pitches. The effort was technically a complete game as the game was called short after five innings due to rain. Eovaldi likely would have gone deeper in the game as he worked up to 72 pitches in his prior start. He finishes the season with a 3.87 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 109.1 innings with 103 strikeouts.
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Red Sox's Nathan Eovaldi: Throws 72 pitches in return
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Eovaldi allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks while striking out three across 4.2 innings Thursday against Baltimore. He did not factor into the decision.
Eovaldi was activated from the injured list Thursday to make his first start since Aug. 12. He was limited to 72 pitches as a result and was largely effective, though he had only six swinging strikes. Eovaldi is projected to draw one more start this season. He's maintained a 4.05 ERA with a 99:18 K:BB across 104.1 frames on the campaign.
