Texas Rangers Star Dubbed ‘Strongest Player’ by Former MLB Trainer

The 162 game Major League Baseball season is, arguably, the biggest grind in professional sports.

What players do to prepare for the sixth-month long MLB campaign, along with what they do to maintain their performance during that massive grind is often overlooked.

During "The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey", the former three-time All-Star with a .302 career batting average had former Big League strength and conditioning coach Matthew Krause on as a guest.

Krause is a former marine that got his first MLB opportunity as an intern in 1999 for the Chicago Cubs Class A affiliate in Daytona. He then spent three years in the minor leagues as part of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, before landing with the Cincinnati Reds in 2003.

He stayed with the Reds until 2013, ultimately serving as their strength and conditioning coordinator.

Krause was then hired by the New York Yankees as their strength and conditioning coach in 2014, ultimately being elevated to the team's director of strength and conditioning. He stayed with the Yankees until December of 2019.

Krause has worked with some of the best to ever do it in Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Ichiro, to name a few.

Casey asked Krause to name the strongest player he ever worked with. The long-time strength and conditioning coach said, "there is a couple in there," but one clearly came to mind, Texas Rangers Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi.

Krause called Eovaldi, "an absolute beast," explaining that the elite athletes of the world, "can physically do whatever they want to do."

Casey was aware that reliever Aroldis Chapman was a premium athlete, but he was clearly surprised that Eovaldi was the strongest player Krause ever worked with.

The former trainer went on to explain that position players have different workout regiments because they have to play every day, where the off time that pitchers have gives them the ability to do more in-season training.

Krause worked with Eovaldi in 2015 and '16 while they were both in New York.

Eovaldi is entering his 14th-Big League season and his third with the Rangers. He'll start on Opening Day on March 27, 2025 against one of his former teams in the Boston Red Sox.

Eovaldi turned 35 years old in mid-February and he's still averaging a mid-90s four seamer, which is a bit down from his peak averages near 98 mph during his time with the Yankees.

He's been a good, but not quite great pitcher that has missed significant time due to injuries throughout his career.

That also makes his ability to start on Opening Day, at the age of 35, for a contending team like Texas more impressive, as it's clear his athletic prowess and work ethic have extended his career.