Report: New Free Agent Nate Eovaldi A Prime Target of Top NL Club

Nathan Eovaldi has opted out of his contract with the Texas Rangers to become an unrestricted free agent this winter. There's now word that a top National League contender has made him a prime target of their offseason plans.

Mark Bowman of mlb.com says that the Atlanta Braves are focused on Eovaldi.

Nathan Eovaldi ranks near the top of the Braves’ wish list, according to an industry source.

An intriguing connection exists between the Braves and Eovaldi. The two of them teamed up on the Boston Red Sox staff to win the 2018 World Series. Eovaldi has since gone on to earn himself another ring, with the Rangers in 2023.

And he has more than pulled his share for those two championships. He is 9-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 12 career postseason starts. Overall, including bullpen work, he's 9-3 with a 3.05 ERA in October.

This past season, in 29 starts with Texas, he recorded a 3.80 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP in 170 2/3 innings with a 166:42 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Braves are expected to lose two key members of their rotation this offseason with both Max Fried and Charlie Morton entering free agency (the latter, at 41, could even retire). So they will be laser-focused on bringing in another top starter. They also hope to get Spencer Strider back sometime early in the season after undergoing elbow surgery at the very beginning of the 2024 campaign.

But the Rangers won't give up on Eovaldi without a fight, as mlb.com reports: “We expected [Eovaldi to decline the option], and we're still going to work towards hopefully getting him back in a Rangers uniform,” said Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young.