Two-time All-Star starter Nathan Eovaldi became a free agent Monday after declining a vested $20 million player option with the Texas Rangers.
Eovaldi earned that option by throwing more than 300 innings over his two seasons with the Rangers, who he signed with in free agency two years ago. He was the winning pitcher in their World Series championship-clinching game at Arizona in 2023, when he was 5-0 in six postseason starts. He was also part of Boston’s 2018 title.
Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said the team is still very interested in re-signing the 34-year-old right-hander and Texas native.
Eovaldi was 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA in 54 starts the past two seasons. He was 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts this year, and threw seven scoreless innings at the Los Angeles Angels to win the season finale for the Rangers, who missed the playoffs.
Texas was the sixth big league team for Eovaldi, who is 91-81 with a 4.07 ERA in 294 career games (275 starts) since his debut in 2011 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Besides Boston, he has also pitched for Miami, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay.
His $34 million deal with the Rangers included a $16 million salary each of the past two seasons, and a $2 million signing bonus. He also earned multiple bonuses for being an All-Star in 2023 and reaching certain levels of innings pitched.
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