Texas Rangers history: Nathan Eovaldi’s arrival brought playoff heroics to Arlington

Four years ago the news broke that Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers had agreed to a two-year deal to bring the right-hander to Arlington and frontline a hopeful championship rotation with Jacob deGrom, who signed with Texas weeks prior.

His track record was impressive. His playoff heroics with Boson was well-recorded and while his 2018 World Series performance didn't lead directly to a win, the series ultimately went in his favor.

It was seen as a great signing back then and he delivered in tenfold by being the glue to a starting rotation that was battered with injuries throughout the 2023 season and ultimately became the legend that is known as "Nasty Nate."

Four years ago, Rangers signing of Eovaldi delivered a title to Arlington

Texas was coming off yet another losing season, the first with Corey Seager and Marcus Semein at the helm at adding deGrom and later Eovaldi to the roster was like adding the final pieces of the puzzle.

Eovadli's first challenge of the year was taking over the rotation early into the year after deGrom went down with Tommy John after making six starts. A day after leaving deGrom's April 28 start early, Eovaldi put the rotation back together again by throwing a complete game, three hit shutout.

It was that 2-0 win over the Yankees on a Saturday night at Globe Life that was the first showcase to why the organization brought in Eovaldi. They needed a proven, veteran presence and all in all it ended well.

Over 23 starts in 2025, Eovaldi complied a 12-5 record with a 3.63 ERA, 132 strikeouts, 47 walks and a 1.14 WHIP in 144 innings of work. He completely took over the rotation and was the ace the Rangers desperately needed to make it into the postseason.

It was his playoff heroics after all that was his biggest contributor, becoming the first player in MLB postseason history to win five games including a 2.95 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 10 walks in six games. He performed several Houdini acts, including the American League Championship Series and the title clinching Game 5 in Arizona.

Even over the past two losing seasons, Eovaldi has been by every definition, an ace. He's won 10+ games both years and last season was on track to be a Cy Young candidate with an 11-3 record and a 1.80 ERA over 130 innings if it wasn't for a strained rotator cuff.