completed four innings in tonights start against Toronto. That was the nece sary cutoff to vest a $20MM player option for next season. Eovaldi signed with the Rangers over the 2022-23 offseason on a two-year, $34MM guarantee. He collected a $2MM signing bonus and respective $16MM salaries Michael Rucker Jersey during the first two years. To unlock the option, Eovaldi needed to throw a combined 300 innings over the two seasons. He has now done just that, reaching 156 frames this season after throwing 144 innings during his first campaign in Texas. As MLBTRs Steve Adams , theres a good chance the righty gets to free agency in either case. Eovaldi has had a strong two-year run in Arlington. He worked to a 3.63 ERA last season. He carried a 3.67 mark into todays start, although the Jays tagged him for seven runs tonight. Eovaldi has fanned more than 24% of opposing hitters while keeping the ball on the ground at a near-49% clip. A consistently excellent strike-thrower, hes walking fewer than 6% of batters faced. Eovaldi still looks like a quality #3 arm, one whom teams could comfortably tab for a playoff start. He pitched very well during the Rangers World Series run, working to a 2.95 ERA at more than six innings per start over six appearances. Eovaldis fastball checks in at nearly 96 MPH on average. He remains one of the harder-throwing starters in the majors even as he approaches his 35th birthday. The primary knock against Eovaldi throughout his career has been his injury history. While he has ten seasons with 100+ innings pitched, he has had a few significant arm i sues. Eovaldi has undergone Tommy John surgery twice. He mi sed time with back and shoulder problems in 2022 with the Red Sox perhaps the biggest reason he was limited to two guaranteed years as a free agent. Eovaldi has gone on the injured list in both seasons with the Rangers. He mi sed over a month with a forearm strain last year and lost a couple weeks to a groin strain this past May. The forearm injury could be a concern for some teams because of the previous Tommy John surgeries, but he has looked no worse for wear in the year-plus since that IL placement. Eovaldi has received a qualifying offer in his career. That makes him ineligible for another QO, so Texas could not tie him to draft compensation if he decides to test the market. He would probably at least secure another two-year deal that pays him something close to $20MM on an annual basis. Thatd presumably be preferable to the one-year player option, although Eovaldi is a Houston native who might prefer to stay in his home state. The option also provides insurance in case he suffers an injury in either of his final two starts of the season. The rotation looks like an offseason priority for baseball operations president Chris Young. is back at the top of the staff. Theyll hope for a healthy season from . debuted last week and could battle for a rotation spot. Thats also true of Rockers college teammate , though hes been hit hard in his first seven MLB appearances. should return from a season-ending foot injury in the fourth year of his free agent deal. has pitched well in a swing role. Thats a high-variance group. deGrom, Mahle and Rocker recently returned from Tommy John recoveries. Leiter, Rocker and Bradford (to a le ser extent) are light on big league experience. , and are headed to free agency. Eovaldi still seems likely to join them. Texas could try to bring Eovaldi back on another multi-year deal and should look for at least one outside acquisition even if they retain him. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports. Maikel Franco Jersey