Bummer: Texas Rangers Ace Nathan Eovaldi Remains Weeks Away From Return

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said it's going to take time for Nathan Eovaldi to ramp up as he recovers from an injury.

ARLINGTON, Texas —Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is throwing some soft toss, but manager Bruce Bochy admits the right-hander is probably “two or three weeks away” from rejoining the rotation.

Eovaldi played catch on Friday at Globe Life Field, the first step in his recovery from a right forearm strain that landed him on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 27.

Bochy said Eovaldi will play catch for the next few days and then the training staff will evaluate the next steps.

“He’s missed some time so we’ve got to build him back up gradually,” Eovaldi said. “It’s gonna be a little bit of time. We’re not going to rush him.”

The Rangers acquired two starters at the trade deadline. Max Scherzer won his Rangers debut on Friday. Jordan Montgomery was to make his first Rangers start on Friday against the Miami Marlins.

Bochy said it would be two to three weeks before Eovaldi was ready for activation. He didn’t rule out ramping Eovaldi up without a rehab assignment, as the team did with Jacob deGrom at the start of this season.

Eovaldi has made just one start since the All-Star break, throwing six shutout innings on July 18 in a win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. Eovaldi is 11-3 with a 2.69 ERA for the season.

Bochy confirmed that Jon Gray would start for the Rangers on Saturday. Andrew Heaney is projected to be Sunday’s starter, based on the team’s game notes.

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.