6:37 p.m.: Eovaldi will receive $16 million in salaries each of the next two seasons, Grant reports (on Twitter). The deal contains a $2 million buyout on the 2025 option.
6:09 p.m.: The deal secures $34 million, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link). He can invest a player option for a third year.
6:08 p.m.: It’s a two-year guarantee with an option for a third season, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).
5:50 p.m.: Rangers agree to a starting free agent Nathan Eovaldireports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). The case is awaiting a physical.
Eovaldi has spent the past four seasons with the Red Sox. Boston first acquired the right-hander from the Rays at the 2018 trade deadline, adding the impending free agent for their playoff push. Eovaldi was excellent in 12 regular season appearances in the streak, then added 22 1/3 innings of 1.61 ERA ball in the playoffs. At the end of the year, Boston rewarded him for his excellent result with a four-year, $68 million free agent contract.
That contract looked shaky in a year, as Eovaldi posted an ERA just south of 6.00 in 2019 – a season in which he missed a noticeable chunk of action due to loose bodies in his throwing elbow . He righted the ship in the second season of the deal, however, posting a 3.72 ERA in nine outings during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Eovaldi followed that up with perhaps the best full campaign of his career in 2021. He made all 32 starts and posted a 3.75 ERA in 182 1/3 innings, knocking out 25.5% of opponents against a rate of walking 4.6%. It shows he earned his first career All-Star selection, as well as a fourth-place finish in the AL Cy Young award voting.
Unfortunately, injury issues resurfaced in 2022. Eovaldi missed chunks of what turned out to be his final season in Boston due to two stints on the injured list. He lost time between June and July with inflammation in his lower back and missed most of August and September due to inflammation in his shoulder. The pair of injuries kept him at 20 starts and 109 1/3 frames, although his output on a rate basis is around what we expected.
Eovaldi hit a 3.87 ERA, knocking out a slightly above average 22.4% of opposing hitters. He walked a miniscule 4.3% of opponents while inducing grounders on 47% of the batted balls he gave up. Eovaldi isn’t the ace his fourth-place finish from Cy Young in 2021 might suggest, but he’s an above-average mid-rotation arm when healthy.
This production doesn’t go as one might expect given Eovaldi’s arsenal of power. He is one of the toughest pitchers in the game, averaging north of 97 MPH for much of his career. However, he never posted the elite takedown rates one would imagine given that speed. Rather, Eovaldi’s best trait is his ability to hammer the strike zone. He has walked less than 5% of opponents in each of the last three years; his 4.4% cumulative walk percentage since the start of 2020 is the second-lowest among 120 pitchers with over 200 frames in that span (behind only the 4.3% mark of Clayton Kershaw).
Eovaldi’s willingness to attack the zone sometimes led to home run problems. He’s allowed above-average home runs in three of the past four years, including 1.73 homers per nine innings last season. It’s the only red flag in Eovaldi’s recent performance record, but his health record and age have probably given some teams pause. He turns 33 in February, making him one of the oldest options in a deep class of mid-rotation starters available in free agency.
In addition to this year’s shoulder and back issues, he has a history of elbow issues. Eovaldi underwent Tommy John surgery in high school, then missed the 2017 campaign after undergoing the procedure a second time in August 2016. He hasn’t needed IL stints due to elbow issues since the body issues loose of 2019 aforementioned. Back and shoulder injuries from last season could be a more acute concern, as Eovaldi’s average fastball speed dropped from his usual range of 96-97 mph at the start of the season to around 94 mph. /h after its first pass in IL.
These injuries seemed to depress the market for Eovaldi. Chris Bassette landed a three-year, $63 million deal ahead of his campaign at 34, while players like Jameson Taillon and Taijuan walker secured strong four-year pacts despite performing less consistently than Eovaldi. Many of the starting free agents available this offseason landed stronger-than-expected deals, but Eovaldi’s guarantee matches exactly. MLBTR’s prediction the shift in the off-season.
Eovaldi’s camp was also working against the qualifying offer. He turned down a QO from Boston early in the winter, forcing any signing team to draft compensation. That was also the case for Bassett, but it wasn’t for pitchers like Walker and Taillon.
Texas hasn’t shown much concern about losing draft picks to add quality talent through free agency. They gave up two choices to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semin last winter, and they will again this offseason. Rangers have already lost a draft pick to sign Jacob of Grom to a five-year contract earlier this offseason. This reduces the price they will have to pay in the case of Eovaldi. Texas has already lost its second 2023 draft pick and $500,000 in international signing bonus space to add deGrom. They will receive an additional $500,000 in the signing bonus room and their third pick next year for Eovaldi.
After the Seager and Semien splashed out to bolster the roster last offseason, Rangers have completely overhauled their starting lineup this winter. Texas acquired Jake Odorizzi des Braves in the first days of winter. left handed Martin Perez soon after, he accepted a qualifying offer, but that didn’t slow down Texas general manager Chris Young or his front office. Since opening free agency, they nabbed deGrom on the biggest pitching contract of the offseason and brought in Andrew Heane and Eovaldi on two-year warranties.
Eovaldi adds another mid-rotation caliber starter to what now looks like a potentially formidable Rangers rotation. deGrom headlines the staff, supported by Gray Jeans, Eovaldi, Perez and Heaney. Smell and Dane Dunning as it looks like they will be pushed into depth roles, although there is enough injury uncertainty with most of the top five, it’s understandable that Texas won’t let up on their feet to seek outside help .
More soon.
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