The Texas Rangers are running out of time to figure out Nathan Eovaldi’s next step, and the picture still isn’t clear.
Eovaldi, who is dealing with right posterior elbow inflammation, has been on the 15-day injured list since Aug. 10. On Monday, manager Skip Schumaker said the right-hander is making progress, but not enough progress yet to know exactly how his return will play out.
According to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, Eovaldi has not thrown off a mound yet. Instead, he threw 50 pitches on flat ground Monday.
Schumaker said he worked through all of his pitches and didn’t look limited, which is a positive sign. Still, the Rangers would rather see him take the next step soon.
“He's [at] 50 pitches, flatground, which is encouraging for sure,” Schumaker said. “But what's that look like in the next week or so? I think that's determining what [his recovery] actually looks like.”
That timeline matters because starting pitchers usually need to clear a few checkpoints before they can return to game action. Eovaldi would need at least one bullpen session and one live batting practice before Texas would even consider a rehab assignment, and the club would prefer more than one bullpen before going that route.
That’s where things get complicated. The Rangers’ minor league affiliates are already winding down, with only a couple of weeks left in the seasons at Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. If Eovaldi needs a standard ramp-up, there may not be enough time left for a rehab assignment to fit.
Texas has seen this movie before. In September of 2023, Eovaldi was coming back from a right forearm strain and had spent more than a month on the injured list.
With the minors shutting down and the Rangers in the middle of a playoff chase, the team let him continue building up in the big-league rotation. It worked, and he was ready for the postseason, where he became a key piece in the Rangers’ run to their first World Series title.
The same kind of path could be on the table again. If the Rangers choose to build Eovaldi up in the majors, they would need extra bullpen support.
Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is available as a long relief option, and Texas could use him to piggyback Eovaldi’s starts. The club could also flip that arrangement and have Eovaldi follow a starter, though that setup is unlikely.
For now, the only real certainty is that the clock is ticking. Schumaker’s comments made it clear Texas needs to see Eovaldi move forward soon, or there may not be enough time left for him to contribute down the stretch.
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