How will Texas Rangers handle Nathan Eovaldi's groin injury? Expect caution

"We were being cautious," Bochy said afterward. "It did tighten up a little. There was no point in pushing it. I'll have better answers [Friday]. I think with what we're talking about here, yeah, he may need some rest. That's what we're going to find out. We're going to take care of him and do what's right."

Which, given Eovaldi's history, almost certainly means a trip to the Injured List. Eovaldi has been to the IL nine times in his career, at least once a year since 2016, with the exception of 2021. The great majority of those IL stints were related to his shoulder and elbow. He did miss two weeks with a calf issue in 2020.

Eovaldi will undergo an MRI Friday in Kansas City, where the Rangers are scheduled to begin a 10-game road trip. He is tentatively scheduled to pitch again Tuesday in Oakland. But where the 34-year-old Eovaldi is concerned, it may be prudent to miss two starts now, rather than try to pitch through it and end up missing much longer.

"It's early in the year," Eovaldi said. "So we've got to make sure we are cautious with it and see how it feels [Friday]. When you are competing and have adrenaline going, you just don't know how it's going to feel after some time."

It puts the Rangers in a delicate position. They are already thin in the rotation and already had the need for an extra starter since they have a doubleheader scheduled in Oakland on Wednesday. Now, they might need two. Jack Leiter, who pitched for Triple-A Round Rock Thursday, almost certainly will be one. If Leiter could step into Eovaldi's spot on Tuesday or, if Eovaldi is OK, Leiter could fill in as the Rangers' second starter in the doubleheader.

If Eovaldi needs time, the Rangers would either have to turn to Owen White, the only healthy starter on the 40-man roster, or pitch a game out of the bullpen. White, who made two major league relief appearances last year, seemed to regress over the past two years. White, 24, did make his best start of the season for Round Rock on Wednesday, going six innings and allowing two runs. He made two appearances in the majors last year but did not start a game.

The Rangers have given more of their homegrown players opportunities this year as they've run into injuries, with the most notable success story being reliever Cole Winn. Winn, who was sent out early in spring training along with White after it was clear they wouldn't compete for major league jobs, has been the surprise find in the bullpen.

GM Chris Young acknowledged this week that sometimes promotion to the major leagues alone is enough to spark a guy. Winn, for example, saw his velocity shoot up more than 2 mph when he moved from Triple-A to the major leagues.

"Heightened environments can bring out the best in people," Young said earlier in the week of Winn's surprising start.

If Leiter and White — or whomever the Rangers have to turn to — simply follow the lead of the current members of the rotation, they should be just fine. It's funny what can happen when you don't walk people.

When the Rangers began the homestand, the rotation had the fourth-worst walk rate in the majors at 11%. On the homestand, they walked just 11 batters in 52.1 innings. Walk rate for the homestand: 5.4%. Far closer to where they were last year when they didn't beat themselves.

"We hold each other accountable," Eovaldi said. "We know what's going on. There was no moment when we said like 'We've got to address this.' But we know what's going on. It's just a case of making sure we're attacking and staying ahead. I feel like the starters are finding their groove."

Said Bochy: "I think this is more a case of just who they are. Hitters have skids. Pitchers can get derailed a little bit at times, too. And that's all it is. They are going to come back and be who they are."

They found themselves. They just hope they didn't lose Eovaldi in the process.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant

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Evan Grant, Rangers beat writer/insider. Evan has covered the Rangers since 1997. He has twice been named one of the top 10 beat writers in the country by the AP Sports Editors. His passions outside of covering baseball are his wife, Gina, his two step kids, two crazy dogs & barbecue. Let's not discuss the cat. Evan graduated from Georgia State University, but oddly is a Georgia fan.

egrant@dallasnews.com @Evan_P_Grant