Rangers activate RHP Nathan Eovaldi off IL to start vs. D-backs

The Texas Rangers are activating right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list in time to start against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, manager Bruce Bochy confirmed to reporters.

The Rangers also activated rookie DH/OF Wyatt Langford from the IL before Tuesday's game. Langford, 22, last played May 4 before being sidelined with a hamstring strain.

In corresponding moves, Texas placed outfielder Evan Carter (lower back tightness) on the injured list and optioned right-hander Yerry Rodriguez, 26, to Triple-A Round Rock. Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings over 12 games.

Eovaldi last pitched on May 2, when he experienced tightness in his right groin and was placed on the 15-day IL on May 3 out of an abundance of caution. Bochy said the team didn't expect Eovaldi to miss more than his minimum time, but he has sat out close to a month.

Eovaldi, 34, is 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 19 walks and 44 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings over seven starts. A two-time All-Star, including in 2023 in his first season with Texas, Eovaldi has an 81-75 record in his 13-year career with a 4.06 ERA, 422 walks and 1,236 strikeouts in 1,443 innings over 272 games (253 starts).

Right-hander Dane Dunning (3-3, 4.43), who was a candidate to start Tuesday, will slide over to Wednesday's game against Arizona.

Dunning, 29, yielded five runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings of an 11-4 setback to the Philadelphia Phillies last Wednesday. The outing was his first since coming off the injured list with a right rotator cuff strain.

--Field Level Media