Boy does it feel like the Texas Rangers are cursed by the injury gods in 2024. Both sides of the ball have lost key players to everything from garden variety injuries to freak issues that no one could have expected. The latest Ranger to get hurt was one of their few healthy starters in Nathan Eovaldi, who was placed on the injured list with a groin issue.
With Max Scherzer, Cody Bradford, Jacob deGrom, and now Eovaldi on the shelf, the Rangers' rotation consists of a lot of spare parts as well as a resurgent Jon Gray. That can work for a little while in theory, but Texas needs to start having some luck bounce their way soon.
Fortunately, the Rangers' offense seems to have woken up just in time to help carry the load. After Texas absolutely destroyed Oakland 15-8 on Tuesday, Rangers fans also got some very promising news on Eovaldi as it was revealed that his groin injury is considered mild and he should be back quite soon.
Rangers News: Nathan Eovaldi should avoid lengthy stay on the injured list
It appears as though Eovaldi could return from his groin injury as soon as he is eligible to be activated on May 18. Given the Rangers' luck this season with injuries, no one should take anything for granted. However, it was still heartening that manager Bruce Bochy and the Rangers already seem to think that Eovaldi probably won't even need a rehab stint in the minors before he is back on the mound.
If the Rangers keep hitting like they have lately, they may not even miss Eovaldi. Texas has scored 15 runs in a game twice over their last four games with Nathaniel Lowe playing a huge role during the Rangers' four-game winning streak and Corey Seager is showing signs of rounding into form. Though the streak came to an end this afternoon against the A's, the Rangers are right back on top during the second game of the doubleheader with Jack Lieter on the mound.
All of sudden, the Rangers look more like the team that won the World Series last year. If everything holds, they should be getting healthy again soon as well with Eovaldi and Scherzer both set to return in a couple weeks.