Nathan Eovaldi had a terrific season for the Texas Rangers, even with the injuries he had to deal with.
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. Texas put Eovaldi on the injured list on Aug. 27 with the rotator cuff strain, which ended his season. He also missed a month earlier in the year with right posterior elbow inflammation.
Right after the season, the Rangers revealed that Eovaldi was being assessed for a sports hernia injury. It was a surprise to many. It wasn’t to the right-hander. He discussed the injury during his first interview with media at spring training in Surprise, Ariz.
Nathan Eovaldi’s Sports Hernia Journey
Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Eovaldi suffered a groin injury in 2024, one that put him on the injured list in May of that season. He had a groin injury. But, during imaging, he was also diagnosed with what he called “the sports hernia stuff.”
“They said, ‘Anybody can have it,’” Eovaldi said. “It’s just as long as it’s not effecting you. I just didn’t realize how much it was affecting me.”
He said last offseason was “rough” with the sports hernia, but he also said that once the regular season started it was fine. It didn’t bother him. The other injuries did. But, based on the previous offseason, Eovaldi felt it was time to get that injury addressed and put it behind him entering 2026. He said he had surgery on both, but the left was more severe.
He’s not the only Rangers star to deal with the injury. Shortstop Corey Seager had two sports hernia surgeries in 2024, one on each side of his body. The first one happened in January of 2024 and impacted his ramp-up in spring training. The other happened in September and ended his season.
Eovaldi said he has no restrictions in spring training.
“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.
He wasn’t the only Rangers pitcher that missed multiple months with an injury. Tyler Mahle, now with the San Francisco Giants, missed three months with a shoulder issue. Jacob deGrom and Jack Leiter, back from last year’s rotation, were healthy, aside from Leiter’s short IL stint with a blister.
He’s also a big fan of the offseason’s new addition, MacKenzie Gore, who joined the team in January via trade.
“I feel like picking up MacKenzie was a huge one for us,” Eovaldi said. “I don’t feel like we’ve had that big dominant left-hander in the rotation since I’ve been here. … If we can make sure that he stays healthy I mean, it’s going to make our rotation a lot better.”
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