DALLAS (AP) — The championship vision that led Nathan Eovaldi to sign with Texas as a free agent two years ago is the same one that brought him back to the Rangers.
A World Series title in his first season was followed by a losing record this year.
“I believe in the guys in the group that we have. We were able to do it in ‘23. I don’t feel a lot has changed,” Eovaldi said Friday, a day after finalizing a $75 million, three-year contract. “We had a down year last year, but I’ve said it before, you learn a lot from losing seasons.”
Eovaldi had declined a $20 million player option to become a free agent again and reaching an agreement during the winter meetings in Dallas. Texas also acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger in a swap with Miami.
Burger had fallen asleep before getting a call late Tuesday night that he had been traded to Texas, where his family was already planning to move after the October birth of a daughter with Down syndrome.
“The other city that is really good other than Nashville in terms of children’s hospital and resources for her Downs is in Dallas,” Burger said. “Not just from the baseball spectrum, from the life aspect as well … I feel like it was meant to be, and we couldn’t be more more excited about that.”
In the Nashville area, Burger lives close to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, whom he plans to visit with soon. His former Marlins manager, Skip Schumaker, was hired last month by the Rangers as as a senior adviser for baseball operations, and Luis Urueta, Miami’s bench coach the past two seasons, recently joined Bochy’s on-field coaching staff for 2025. Burger and Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning were once roommates in the Chicago White Sox organization.
Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, when he started 59 games at third base and 50 starts at first. He was with the White Sox in Texas when he got traded to Miami on Aug. 1, 2023, and four days later hit his first homer with the Marlins at Globe Life Field.
When the Rangers made the title run in 2023, Eovaldi was 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in six postseason starts. He was the winning pitcher in their World Series-clinching Game 5 at Arizona. He was also part of Boston’s 2018 title.
Eovaldi was 12-8 this year with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts, the last seven scoreless innings in the regular-season finale. He is 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA in 54 starts for Texas the past two seasons.
The new deal for the Texas native, who who turns 35 in February, includes a $12 million signing bonus, half payable on Nov. 15, 2026, and the rest on Jan. 15, 2028, and salaries of $18 million next season, $25 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027. He gets a full no-trade provision.
After being welcomed back by Chris Young, the Rangers president of baseball operations, the pitcher said he never felt like he really left. The Rangers stayed in contact throughout the process after he declined his option Nov. 4.
“Kind of listening to the market and everything, I’m extremely happy to be back. I’m glad we were we were able to make it all work out,” Eovaldi said. “We had a lot of teams reach out right away and we were in contact with most them across the league. Ultimately we were able to make it back here.”
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