Eovaldi sees World Series potential in Rangers' rotation
Kennedi Landry
@kennlandryThis story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry¡¯s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Nathan Eovaldi hasn¡¯t spoken publicly much since he was formally introduced as a member of the Rangers on Jan. 5, but he makes one thing clear every time he does talk: ¡°Pitching wins championships.¡±
Speaking at the Rangers Winter Caravan stop at the club¡¯s Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, Eovaldi elaborated further on his decision to come to Texas and how his goal of winning another World Series perfectly aligns with what the Rangers are doing at every level of the organization.
¡°You look at the starters that we were able to add to the organization, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, myself, Jake Odorizzi,¡± Eovaldi said. ¡°Then you¡¯ve got the guys who are already coming out, Martín Pérez, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray. I thought the bullpen was outstanding last year. I think they were overworked. To me, pitching has always been the key. If you have really good starting pitching, it takes the pressure off the defense and the offense. I think that's what we're going to be able to provide. A lot of guys have had a lot of success and we've been able to add to the organization and I think it's just proven to everybody here that we can win.¡±
Eovaldi speaks with a knowledge of the club, almost like he¡¯s been a front-office member for years, dissecting the ins and outs of the rotation, bullpen and lineup as he prepares for Spring Training and hopefully another World Series run.
The right-hander knows what it takes to win a World Series and he knows what it¡¯s like to be part of an elite rotation that can get to that point. Eovaldi played a key role in Boston¡¯s World Series title in 2018, alongside guys like David Price and Chris Sale.
¡°That rotation that we had reminds me a lot of the one that we have here, now, in Texas,¡± Eovaldi said. ¡°The sky¡¯s the limit.¡±
With all the help the Rangers have added in the rotation, Eovaldi also notes that he doesn¡¯t feel the weight of having to be the guy to carry a pitching staff, as maybe he did with injuries down the stretch during his last few years in Boston.
The Rangers got a bona fide ace in deGrom, while also adding Heaney, Odorizzi and Eovaldi to join Gray and P¨¦rez. It¡¯s the most depth that Texas has seen in the rotation in years.
¡°I feel like we've got seven or eight potential starters,¡± Eovaldi said. ¡°And I feel like that's the key to having a winning team. You have to have pitching and you have to have the depth and we have a really good Minor League organization, too. Everybody's ready to come up. You see the success that they had here [in Round Rock]. I think we're just right there at the edge and the next step is proving to everybody that we can go out there and we can win a lot of ballgames.¡±