Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi hits IL with inflammation in elbow

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday because of inflammation in his pitching elbow.

The move was made before the Rangers opened a road series against the Los Angeles Angels. Rookie right-hander Ben Peoples was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.

In his most recent outing Friday night, Eovaldi limited Baltimore to one run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings before leaving after 86 pitches.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker told reporters that Eovaldi felt something in his elbow when playing catch Sunday.

"Hopefully this is just the 15-day IL stint," Schumaker said. "That's always the hope. Evo, with how hard he works, and the time he puts into this thing, the day that he'll be allowed to come off, that's the day he'll try to come off. That's obviously to be determined."

Eovaldi (10-9, 4.21 ERA) is the team leader in wins and innings pitched with 132 2/3. The 36-year-old right-hander had been on the active roster all season, though he skipped a scheduled start in May because of left side tightness.

The Texas native is 45-25 with a 3.38 ERA in 98 regular-season starts since joining the Rangers in 2023.

Eovaldi was 11-3 with a career-best 1.73 ERA last season, when he also had an IL stint for elbow inflammation before his season ended early because of a rotator cuff strain.

Peoples was 0-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Rangers from July 2 until being optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.