Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi Placed on IL With Forearm Injury After Max Scherzer Trade

The Texas Rangers' acquisition of Max Scherzer may have been even more important than initially thought.

Texas announced Sunday that it placed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list because of a right forearm strain. The stint on the IL is retroactive to July 27.

The Eovaldi news came shortly after the Rangers officially announced they landed Scherzer and cash considerations for minor leaguer Luisangel Acuña in a trade with the New York Mets.

Eovaldi's last appearance came on July 18 when he pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. It was more of the same for the right-hander, who has been excellent this season with a 2.69 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 123.2 innings.

He was named to the second All-Star Game of his career and is a major reason Texas was in position as a buyer and contender ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

The Rangers are 60-45 and one game ahead of the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. They haven't made the playoffs since 2016 but have been among the biggest positive surprises in the league this season.

Scherzer is someone who can anchor the pitching staff in the playoffs' biggest moments as a World Series champion and three-time Cy Young winner, but Texas looks much more formidable with the one-two punch atop its rotation.

But there is now plenty of concern for Eovaldi.

He was scratched from Sunday's start against the San Diego Padres because of soreness behind his elbow, although manager Bruce Bochy told reporters an MRI returned clean results. Yet the Dallas Morning News noted he was scratched from his previous scheduled start on Tuesday against the Astros after his fastball velocity decreased in four of his last five appearances.

With Eovaldi now sidelined and Jacob deGrom already out for the season after undergoing surgery, the pressure will only be dialed up for Scherzer to lead the way for his new team.