DALLAS — The Texas Rangers, who bowed out of the free agent market last winter with the uncertainty of their TV contract, jumped right back in Tuesday by bringing back starter Nathan Eovaldi on a three-year, $75 million contract.
The Rangers, who were aggressively pursuing Max Fried before he signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees, immediately pivoted to Eovaldi.
And, according to a high-ranking Rangers executive, they still plan to pursue one more starter and two relievers.
Their rotation now consists of Jacob deGrom, Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle and Cody Bradford with Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter knocking on the door.
Eovaldi, 34, who is 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA, including 298 strikeouts in 314 ⅔ innings in 54 starts the past two seasons with the Rangers, was able to parlay the hot pitching market into the three-year deal.
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“Good starting pitching is expensive,” Rangers GM Chris Young told Dallas reporters Monday. ‘The reality of it is, it never goes down. It’s just the state of starting pitching today.’
Eovaldi, a Texas native, is beloved by the organization after helping lead them to the 2023 World Series title by going 5-0 with 2.95 ERA over six starts in the postseason.
While the Rangers’ TV contract situation still is uncertain, owner Ray Davis has given his front office approval to raise the payroll – but keep it under the $241 million tax threshold.
“We are proceeding as though we can operate in a normal fashion,’ Young said, “that will allow us to complete the roster that we think is capable of competing for the division and hopefully a world championship.’
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