Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi Likely Out for Season with Shoulder Injury, RHP Has 1.73 ERA

Texas Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi will likely miss the remainder of the 2025 season with a rotator cuff strain, president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters Tuesday.

Eovaldi has recorded a 1.73 ERA through 22 starts and 130.0 innings pitched through his third season with the Rangers.

He most recently pitched seven innings on Friday and had been listed as the probable pitcher for the Rangers' Wednesday game against the Los Angeles Angels.

He struck out nine batters while walking none, allowing four hits and one run in his most recent appearance on the mound.

Eovaldi previously spent most of June on the injured list due to a triceps injury, but has otherwise been dominant for the Rangers in the first season of his three-year, $75 million deal with the club.

His work in Friday's 4-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians earned him enough innings to briefly qualify as MLB's ERA leader ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and his 2.16 ERA.

The Rangers bought at the trade deadline in an apparent push for a Wild Card spot, giving up prospect depth in order to add Danny Coulombe and Phil Maton to the bullpen and Merrill Kelly to the rotation.

But the Rangers' postseason hopes have faded as the team struggled to a 9-14 record so far in August, leaving the club 5.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners for the last Wild Card spot in the AL.

Eovaldi's injury is the latest blow to the club's hopes of closing that gap, following the losses of center fielder Evan Carter (right wrist fracture) and second baseman Marcus Siemen (fracture in his left foot) for what could also be the rest of the season.

Losing Eovaldi will not only end the 35-year-old's shot at finishing the season as the MLB's qualified ERA leader, but will make the climb into a Wild Card spot even more difficult for the injury-thinned Rangers.

If the Rangers believe the climb into the postseason is insurmountable, the organization could decide to shed some salary this week in order to ensure the club is below the luxury tax threshold by the Sept. 1 deadline.

The Rangers have been a luxury tax team for two previous seasons and would be heavily taxed for every dollar spent over the $241 million first threshold, as previously reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Spotrac currently projects the club's tax payroll at $236 million.