Rangers trying to work around ailing arms: 'Everybody’s an option'
Kennedi Landry
@kennlandryHOUSTON -- So much of the Rangers’ 2024 season hinges on staying afloat until a trio of starting pitchers -- Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle -- return from the injured list this summer. The worst way to stay afloat is to add more injuries to that list.
Ahead of Sunday’s 8-5 loss in the series finale against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, the Rangers placed lefty Cody Bradford on the injured list, where he joined the group that he calls the “big dogs.” And that’s an even bigger blow than anybody would have expected coming into the season.
Almost shockingly, the 26-year-old Bradford has been Texas' best starter in the young season, having gone 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA over three starts. He ranked among American League leaders in wins, opponents' batting average (.145) and ERA at the time of his injury.
The rotation is currently headed by Nathan Eovaldi, with Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and Andrew Heaney falling in behind him. Michael Lorenzen is expected to join the club in Detroit, taking Bradford’s spot in the rotation for his Rangers debut.
That’s a good starting rotation, just as it seemed in Spring Training. But it’s also an ankle sprain or a blister away from completely falling apart.
Eovaldi has typically been a stopper of sorts in his time with the Rangers, often stepping up and delivering quality starts right when the club needs them. In Sunday’s loss, he gave up five runs off eight hits and two walks in six innings. He surrendered two solo homers to Jose Altuve.
“One of the frustrating parts about today was I felt like I made good pitches at times and they were still able to put the ball in play,” Eovaldi said. “I feel like that's one of the things that the Astros do well as a whole. They're able to expand the strike zone but make it tough at-bats and tough outs.”
The beauty of a guy like Eovaldi is that even when he’s not at his best, he consistently delivers length. It’s not always like that throughout the Rangers' rotation, as both Heaney and Gray have failed to deliver more than five innings in each of their first three starts, respectively.
“I'd love to have a three-pitch first inning instead of a 30-pitch first inning,” Heaney said after his own loss to the Astros on Saturday. “It can erode your confidence a little bit and your conviction and stuff, but at the same time you have to go out there and have a decent second inning and build on that.”
The Rangers' rotation is a tight-knit group and they often work on things together with pitching coach Mike Maddux. Things could very easily be tweaked and fixed before the team's 10-game road trip even ends on April 21.
Asked for his evaluation of the rotation as a whole after the first two weeks of the season, Eovaldi noted that things could be going a bit smoother. Texas' rotation ERA of 3.65 was tied for sixth in MLB as of the end of Sunday's game, but the inability to go deep into games often is affecting the bullpen, which is short on arms, as well.
“I feel like the walks have been an issue, where it is uncompetitive,” Eovaldi said. “I, today, had some where it's a four- or five- or six-pitch walk. When there's really not anybody on base, then I feel like that kind of opens the floodgates at times when we really have to make good pitches and bear down. It ends up wasting pitches. I feel like we’ve got to do a better job of just attacking the guys in general.”
Coming into the season, it was clear that the Rangers’ repeat effort could potentially hinge upon the durability of the rotation in the first half and the health of the “big dogs” in the second.
Now, especially as Texas continues to power through a 17-game, 17-day stretch, they desperately need somebody -- maybe multiple somebodies -- to step up and deliver quality innings.
“Everybody’s an option,” manager Bruce Bochy said.