Is Nathan Eovaldi Broken?
Looking at the Texas Rangers’ starting pitching during spring training told me something. One of the most elite staffs in baseball resides on the Rangers roster.
Fast forward to game 1, and Eovaldi struggled to keep the Baltimore Orioles from scoring.
In the end, he gave up 6 earned runs in 4 innings pitched. While his second, third, and fourth starts were better (4 earned runs combined in those three starts), he imploded in his last start.
Eovaldi gave up 3 home runs in his first 7 pitches against the Athletics, in a series that was an early battle for first place in the West.
He has given up 39 hits and 23 runs (21 earned) in 32.2 innings pitched. In 22 starts in 2025, he only gave up 90 hits in 130.0 innings pitched.
The difference between 2025 and this season is stark.
He was one of the most dominant pitchers in the league in 2025.
Despite his struggles, the Rangers have the third-lowest ERA in the American League at 3.59.
“It’s frustrating,” Eovaldi said about the game against the Athletics, according to MLB.com.
“The way that they were getting their runs, it’s deflating for us. Obviously, that’s on me. I felt like I was able to settle down. I’ve got to go out there and make better pitches. I gotta do a better job of working in the bottom of the zone. When I’m down in the bottom of the zone, I have the results, but a lot of the time right now, I’ve just been middle-middle, middle-away, middle-in. That’s where a lot of the damage has been done.”
While he says he is feeling better mechanically, his results are still not there. Rangers fans have been spoiled by how many good years Eavoldi has had in a Rangers uniform.
“I know I’ve said it before, but I’m not worried about him,” manager Skip Schumaker said to the media after Friday night’s start.
“It is true, and I’ll say it again. I’m not worried about him; just because of how hard he works and how much he game-plans, it’s going to turn out for him. He’s just had a little bit of a slow start, but he’s had a really good outing mixed in there as well.”
Bottom line: He is not broken; he is just off to a slow start in 2026. I still believe he will have a good season for the Rangers.
Hopefully, his troubles are close to over as the team hovers around the .500 mark so far this season.
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Categorized:Rangers The Ranger Report