Defending a World Series title is difficult. Especially when dealing with budgetary restrictions.
After a dream 2023 season in which the Texas Rangers steamrolled through the American League playoffs en route to the first title in franchise history, the Rangers' title defense has been a disaster.
After an extra-innings loss Monday night, the Rangers sit 8.5 games out of a playoff spot at 55-64. They banked on themselves to improve after the trade deadline, and since then, they've gone 3-9, essentially flunking out of the fringes of the playoff race in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are under immense financial stress, sitting $14 million over the first luxury tax threshold amid uncertain television revenues. And one insider believes Texas could take a drastic step to mitigate some of that stress.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday that the Rangers may be considering placing star pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on waivers as a cost-saving measure.
"Eovaldi will be owed about $2.7 million Aug. 31. The Rangers, if they embarked on a waiver purge, could redirect some of their savings toward re-signing him," Rosenthal said.
Eovaldi, 34, has been one of the most dependable starters in baseball the past five seasons. He has a 3.97 ERA in 130 starts since the start of 2019. And in the postseason, he's an entirely different beast.
In three postseasons with the Rangers and Boston Red Sox, Eovaldi is 9-3 with a 3.05 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9. That includes a memorable relief performance in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, where Eovaldi threw six full innings out of the bullpen.
The waiver claim system works in a way that would allow the teams with the worst records to claim Eovaldi first, but if whoever got him could get to October, they would have a huge weapon on their hands.
However, as Rosenthal also mentions, putting a star like Eovaldi on waivers could be a bad look for baseball. Texas has been under financial stress all season because of their iffy local television deal, but affecting the postseason race to save money would be tough for optics.
Ultimately, it's the Rangers' call. Do they want to take advantage of a system that incentivizes teams to spend less? Or do they want to play the rest of their disappointing season out the "honorable way," for whatever that's worth.
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