Braves show interest in free-agent starter Eovaldi (source)

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

Eovaldi became a free agent when he declined his $20 million option to stick with the Rangers through the 2025 season. The 34-year-old right-hander can now pursue a multiyear deal that would most likely include an average annual value of at least $20 million.

“We expected [Eovaldi to decline the option], and we're still going to work towards hopefully getting him back in a Rangers uniform,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told MLB.com on Monday.

Eovaldi’s contract included a vesting player option for the 2025 season that was dependent on whether he threw 300 innings between the '23 and '24 seasons; he threw 314 2/3 innings and went 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA in 54 games.

Eovaldi posted a 3.80 ERA while completing 170 2/3 innings over 29 starts this past season. His 23.9 percent strikeout rate was his highest mark since 2021, which was one of the five seasons he spent playing with current Braves ace Chris Sale in Boston.

Eovaldi is 9-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 12 career postseason starts. He teamed with Sale to win the 2018 World Series with the Red Sox, and then gained his second ring after helping the Rangers win it all in '23.

Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach will serve as the core of Atlanta’s rotation until Spencer Strider returns from right elbow surgery early next season. But the Braves could be looking to add more as they prepare for the possibility that both Max Fried and Charlie Morton could be pitching elsewhere next year.

Fried stands as one of the top overall pieces on this year’s free-agent market. It has been long assumed the 2024 season would be the 30-year-old southpaw’s last in Atlanta. Morton, who turns 41 next week, is among the Braves’ other rotation options if he doesn’t retire.