Bold statement first: Nathan Eovaldi delivered a season in 2025 that reminded every Rangers fan why reliability on the mound matters—and why his teammates and coaches value him beyond the box score.
Over the course of the offseason, we’ll review every player who appeared in a Texas Rangers game in 2025, and today we focus on starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.
Nathan Eovaldi makes me happy. I’ll bet you feel the same way too. Just take a look at the accompanying photo that goes with this post. (Yes, there’s a video playing at the top, but the image still captures the heart of the story. If you need a refresher, swing back to the main page to see the photo.)
He’s a solid pitcher with an equally solid reputation as a person and teammate. Eovaldi makes a point to connect with fellow pitchers on the staff, mentoring, supporting, and generally being a great presence in the clubhouse.
On the mound, he commands the strike zone, limits walks, and keeps runs off the board.
In 2025, at age 35, Eovaldi arguably enjoyed his best season yet. I’m tempted to drop the qualifier entirely—his performance seems to justify saying it outright.
While it’s true he has never posted a bWAR higher than 4.3 (achieved in 2025), he did reach that same 4.3 figure in 2021 as well. And while his 2021 fWAR of 5.7 outshines his 2025 3.7 fWAR, it still marks a career peak in the modern era and remains a standout season.
So, yes, I’m aware of the temptation to hedge, but the numbers speak for themselves.
In 2025, Eovaldi logged a pristine 1.73 ERA, and it looked as though he might contend for the ERA title—until a rotator cuff strain in late August shut down his year.
In terms of innings, the plan was to reach the 162-inning threshold for a full qualifying season, but an earlier-month stint on the injured list shortened that path. He finished the year with 130 innings across 22 starts, still a meaningful workload.
We know this about Eovaldi: he’s had to battle to stay healthy since his major league debut back in 2011 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s shown a tendency toward injuries and IL stints across seasons, and we accept that reality.
Yet, when Eovaldi took the mound, you could rely on him. Only three outings didn’t reach five innings: once in late May when he left early and headed to the IL, once in late June coming off the IL on a pitch count, and a second start of the year when he was pulled with two outs in the fifth. In 14 of his 22 starts, he logged at least six innings.
Defensively, he’s been a model of consistency. He allowed more than three runs in a game just once in 2025 (that August defeat to Arizona, where he surrendered five runs on three homers). In 19 of 22 outings, he allowed two earned runs or fewer. He also walked more than two hitters in a game only twice and issued zero or one unintentional walks in 18 starts.
Remarkably, he was one of the rare Rangers pitchers in 2025 who performed better on the road than at home, posting a 1.39 ERA away from The Shed and a 2.15 ERA at home.
Eovaldi’s repertoire is a balanced mix: splitter, fastball, cutter, and curveball each thrown at least 20% of the time, all of which yielded solid results. His occasional sinker is a nice complementary piece, and while his slider isn’t a frequent weapon, that’s okay—he doesn’t rely on it.
Looking back, I wasn’t thrilled about the Rangers’ 2022–23 offseason decision to sign Eovaldi. But after watching his 2025 season, my stance has changed: I’d welcome him to retire as a Texas Ranger.
