Texas Rangers All-Star Nathan Eovaldi To Miss Sunday Start at Padres

All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi has not pitched since July 18 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

While the Texas Rangers made a move to acquire three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, they are also dealing with another possible setback with their current ace. 

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy announced prior to Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres that right-hander Nathan Eovaldi would be scratched from his scheduled start Sunday at Petco Park, marking the second skipped outing since the All-Star break. 

Bochy said Eovaldi was experiencing elbow soreness entering the weekend, but underwent an MRI that came back clean. When asked about the status of the team's ace moving forward, Bochy said there isn't a timetable for his return, but the plan was not to place him on the Injured List. 

Eovaldi, who's excelled in place of offseason addition Jacob deGrom as the team's top arm, hasn't pitched since July 18. He was didn't go Tuesday against the Houston Astros, with Bochy saying Eovaldi "needed rest." 

Following the All-Star game, Bochy noticed a drop-off in Eovaldi's velocity with the fastball. Usually hovering around 93.1 mph, the average speed of his primary pitch dropped by 2.4 mph in a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Eovaldi pitched six scoreless innings in the win against Tampa, allowing two hits and three walks while lowering his season ERA to 2.69. For the year, Eovaldi has flirted with Cy Young buzz, posting an 11-3 record to go along with 111 strikeouts and 1.01 WHIP in 123 2/3 innings pitched. 

Unlike most of the roster, Eovaldi didn't rest during the All-Star break, delivering one scoreless inning for the American League in a 3-2 loss. The expectation is for the 33-year-old right-hander to be reevaluated before his next appearance. 

Injuries have stockpiled for Texas entering the second half of the season. All-Stars Corey Seager and Jonah Heim are currently on the IL, with the latter potentially needing surgery prior to the end of the season. Heim is expected to be reevaluated in 2-3 weeks before making a decision. 

The Rangers have been without deGrom, who underwent Tommy John surgery, since June. Pitching has been a primary need for Texas at the deadline since early June, as evident by the trade for reliever Aroldis Chapman with the Kansas City Royals.

The trade deadline is Tuesday.

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