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Rangers Ace Underwent Surprise Surgery Following Outstanding 2025 Season

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Jeremy Trottier | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 4:11 PM ET

The Texas Rangers prided themselves on an outstanding pitching core throughout the 2025 season, including a getting a resurgent Jacob deGrom and Cy Young-type campaign from Nathan Eovaldi.

Unfortunately, the main issue that stood in the way of Eovaldi really putting his name into the running was injuries, as he only made 22 starts on the year with a total of 130 innings of work. Despite that, he put together an outstanding campaign with an 11-3 record, 1.73 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 129 strikeouts, 21 walks, 10 home runs allowed and a 2.80 FIP.

His injury near the end of the year was diagnosed as a strained rotator cuff, which landed him on the 60-day injured list in August and effectively ended his 2025 season. The hope is that he'll be back healthy for the start of next year, but it was reported earlier in the week that Eovaldi was being evaluated for another type of injury.

Now, it has been revealed that he has undergone surgery.

According to a new report from Jeff Wilson of alldlls.com, which was later confirmed by ESPN, Eovaldi underwent a sports hernia surgery this past Wednesday following some testing and a consultation that was done early in the week.

What Is the Latest Update on Eovaldi's Surgery?

The timeline for this is favorable, so that leaves room for him to return prior to the start of the 2026 season, which is the expectation.

Hopefully, he'll be able to have a somewhat full offseason of preparation to get ready for next year. With a timeline set usually around six to eight weeks, the club expects he will have a "normal offseason" when it comes to both the shoulder and hernia surgery recoveries.

That is a huge positive moving forward, as the Rangers could desperately use another season like Eovaldi had in 2025 but for a longer period of time if possible. Giving him as much time to recover and prepare for the upcoming campaign is exactly what is needed, so the timeline being as short as it is should be helpful.

Injuries have been staved off for a bit by Eovaldi, as he made 29 starts in 2024 and 25 in 2023. But now, as he hits 35 years old, a few have started to pop up. Thankfully, it seems as though he should be available to start 2026 and be the ace of this staff again.