Rangers Set Nathan Eovaldi as Starter for Spring Training Opener vs. Royals

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker named Nathan Eovaldi as the starter for the team’s first spring training game on Friday against the Kansas City Royals.

The first-year Rangers manager did not go further into his pitching plans for the weekend or for the game. The only other player he’s said would start on Friday is catcher Kyle Higashioka, who he revealed as the starter behind the plate on Monday.

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Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Brandon Nimmo will not play in the game, per Schumaker.

Evo’s First Start

Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throws a pitch. — Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Eovaldi is coming off a great, yet injury-marred, 2025 campaign in which he went 11-3 with a 1.73 ERA in 22 games and 130 innings. He struck out 129 and walked 21 while finishing with a 0.854 WHIP.

Hs missed a month with right posterior elbow inflammation. He missed the final month of the season with a right rotator cuff strain. He also had sports hernia surgery, which stemmed from a 2024 groin injury. He had surgery on both sides and is now healthy and a full go.

“Right now, I feel really good, it’s the beginning of spring training and it's a matter of not doing too much making sure we're going out there staying healthy for the long run,” Eovaldi said earlier in the spring.

Eovaldi was the Rangers’ opening day starter last year as they pushed Jacob deGrom back in the rotation to position him to get extra rest between starts without having to skip him in the rotation. He ended up making 30 starts, more than Eovaldi last season.

Eovaldi just turned 36 years old and is in the second year of a three-year contract with the Rangers that pays him $75 million over that span. He first signed a two-year deal with Texas before the 2023 season with a vested third-year player option based on innings. The Alvin, Texas, native helped the Rangers win the 2023 World Series.

That season he went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 25 starts, with 132 strikeouts and 47 walks. He was an All-Star that season and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting. He followed that in 2024 with a 12-8 record and a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts, with 166 strikeouts and 42 walks.

The former 11th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 MLB draft has played for the Dodgers, the Miami Marlins, the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox with a career record of 102-845 with a 3.89 ERA. He also won a World Series with Boston in 2018 and claimed an All-Star berth with the Red Sox in 2021.

Evo’s First Start

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