The championship goal that made Nathan Eovaldi choose to sign with Texas as a free agent two years ago is the same one that led him to return to the Rangers.
Eovaldi won a World Series title in his first season with Texas, followed by a losing record this year.
“I believe in the guys in the group that we have. We were able to do it in ‘23. I don’t feel a lot has changed,” Eovaldi said on Friday, a day after agreeing to a three-year, $75 million contract. “We had a down year last year, but I’ve said it before, you learn a lot from losing seasons.”
Eovaldi had turned down a $20 million player option to become a free agent again and reached a deal during the winter meetings in Dallas. Texas also made a trade to acquire slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from Miami.
Burger had fallen asleep before receiving a call late Tuesday night about his trade to Texas, where his family plans to move after the October birth of a daughter with Down syndrome.
Texas Rangers players celebrates after a home run in the 9th inning
“The other city that is really good other than Nashville in terms of children’s hospital and resources for her Downs is in Dallas,” Burger said. “Not just from the baseball spectrum, from the life aspect as well… I feel like it was meant to be, and we couldn’t be more excited about that.”
Burger lives near Rangers manager Bruce Bochy in the Nashville area and plans to visit him soon. His former manager with the Marlins, Skip Schumaker, was hired by the Rangers last month as a senior adviser for baseball operations. Luis Urueta, who was the Marlins’ bench coach for the past two seasons, recently joined Bochy’s on-field coaching staff for 2025. Burger and Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning were once roommates in the White Sox organization.
Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, starting 59 games at third base and 50 at first base. He was traded from the White Sox to Miami on Aug. 1, 2023, and hit his first homer with the Marlins at Globe Life Field just four days later.
In the Rangers’ World Series run in 2023, Eovaldi was 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in six postseason starts. He was the winning pitcher in the World Series Game 5 that clinched the title in Arizona. Eovaldi was also part of the Boston Red Sox team that won the 2018 title.
Nathan Eovaldi preps to pitch in the 1st inning
This year, Eovaldi was 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts, including seven scoreless innings in the regular-season finale. Over the past two seasons, he has a 24-13 record with a 3.72 ERA in 54 starts for Texas.
The new contract for the Texas native, who turns 35 in February, includes a $12 million signing bonus, half of which will be paid on Nov. 15, 2026, and the rest on Jan. 15, 2028. He will earn $18 million in 2025, $25 million in 2026, and $20 million in 2027. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause.
After being welcomed back by Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, Eovaldi said he never felt like he had really left. The Rangers had stayed in contact throughout the process after he declined his option on Nov. 4.
“Kind of listening to the market and everything, I’m extremely happy to be back. I’m glad we were able to make it all work out,” Eovaldi said. “We had a lot of teams reach out right away, and we were in contact with most of them across the league. In the end, we were able to make it back here.”
