Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) faces hitters on Friday

Eovaldi came into a 3-3 game to start the fifth and went the distance, allowing just one hit in the process. He threw 46 pitches in his second appearance since coming off the IL. The Rangers will probably give him another long relief appearance this weekend before maybe sliding him back into the rotation next week.

The timing here is a bit of a stunner, but the Rangers apparently will use Eovaldi out of the pen for now. Perhaps they’ll aim to get him back in the rotation during the final 7-10 days if they’re still in the race. Eovaldi had been out since Aug. 10 with elbow inflammation. He’s returning without a rehab assignment.

The 36-year-old right-hander came away from the session feeling good. The Rangers will wait and see how he’s feeling on Friday before determining whether the next step in his throwing progression will be another bullpen or a live batting practice session.

Eovaldi, who threw from flat ground on Tuesday, is aiming to make it back to help the Rangers before the regular season wraps up. The 36-year-old veteran hit the injured list with elbow inflammation back on August 10. He’s going to need a couple weeks to ramp back up, but it doesn’t sound like he’s done for the year.

Eovaldi was slated to take the ball against the Angels on Wednesday. The fact that he’s dealing with posterior elbow inflammation is a relatively encouraging sign, but fantasy managers are probably going to have to wait for additional evaluation and imaging before drawing any definitive conclusions. The 36-year-old has posted a serviceable 4.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 137/32 K/BB ratio across 132 2/3 innings this season. He’s been a borderline top-75 range fantasy starter on the year. There should be some additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

Eovaldi’s start was solid per the box score, but he wasn’t particularly sharp and benefitted from some helpful batted ball luck. He didn’t command his cutter well as far too many sat in the heart of the plate against both right and left-handed batters. His fastball also had good and bad moments and the Orioles hit both of those pitches hard. His splitter was able to bail him out on a few occasions though and he did well to limit the damage to just one run. He left this start with a 4.21 ERA, 137 strikeouts, and 32 walks through 132 2/3 innings on the season. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Angels.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi hears the same. Eovaldi has no-trade protection, which can be a big hurdle with deadline deals. If the Rangers sell, they’d be doing so while still possessing a 37 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to Fangraphs’ odds. They’re in a virtual tie with the Mariners, 2 1/2 games back of the Astros in the AL West.

Have the conversations just been about how nice he is as a person? In seriousness, we’re sure the Rangers have spoken to teams about Eovaldi because it makes sense to talk about any player another team is interested in; however, it would be surprising if Eovaldi were moved. The Rangers are currently just 2.5 games out of the lead in the AL West, and Eovaldi has a $24 million deal for next season and a no-trade clause. The Rangers are one of the older teams in the league, so trading Eovaldi would have to signal a full rebuild, or else we’re unclear how it would help them contend in 2027.

Eovaldi got shelled here, no two ways about it. The Astros rallied for three runs in the second inning on four hits and four-hard hit balls. He allowed 12 hard-hit balls in total and most weren’t cheapies either with seven of them being hit at least 104 mph. Eovaldi didn’t have the best feel for his splitter and without it, was playing catch-up most of the night. Also, he let two of those splitters sit in the heart of the plate in his fifth and final inning for Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker to launch back to back homers. Eovaldi now has an ugly 4.31 ERA across 127 1/3 innings this season and is scheduled to face the Giants at home next time out.

Eovaldi struck out eight and walked one in one of his best efforts of the year. The victory makes him 10-8 with a 4.05 ERA. He has a 130/29 K/BB in 122 1/3 innings, giving him the 12th-best K:BB among ERA title qualifiers. Next up for Eovaldi is a road start against the Rays, unless maybe the Rangers add a sixth starter next time through and push him back to face the Astros on Friday.