BREAKING: Rangers bringing back Texas native for 3 years, $75M (ESPN source)

The Rangers are close to reuniting with a key member of their rotation, reportedly finalizing a three-year, $75 million contract with veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi during the Winter Meetings on Tuesday night, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The team has not yet confirmed the deal. Eovaldi, who spent the last two seasons with Texas, will turn 35 in February.

Eovaldi entered free agency after declining a $20 million player option, which had vested upon reaching 300 combined innings in 2023-24. That option was part of a two-year, $34 million deal he signed with the Rangers in December 2022. Over that contract, Eovaldi posted a 3.72 ERA with 298 strikeouts in 314 2/3 regular-season innings.

The Texas native excelled in the 2023 postseason, going 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in six starts, playing a pivotal role in securing the Rangers’ first World Series championship. This marked his second World Series title, having first won with the Red Sox in 2018. Eovaldi boasts a 3.05 ERA over 79 2/3 innings in his postseason career.

Despite frequent injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2016, Eovaldi’s performance has improved significantly in his 30s. While no longer hitting 100 mph regularly, he has recorded an ERA between 3.63 and 3.87 in each of the past five seasons, with a combined 3.75 ERA and an impressive 4.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio during that stretch.

Earlier in his career, Eovaldi had a 4.30 ERA and a 2.42 K/BB ratio across his first eight seasons, moving between five teams — the Dodgers, Marlins, Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox — while being traded three times.