Are Angels still alive in AL Wild Card race after significant Rangers' injury news?

After a convincing 4-0 victory against the Texas Rangers on Monday night, the Angels and rest of MLB received news from Arlington that ace starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi will likely miss the remainder of the 2025 season with a rotator cuff strain. With the Angels playing one of their best games in a long time and the team in front of them in the standings losing their best pitcher, it begs the question of whether or not the Angels can put together a miracle run as the team heads into September rather than simply playing for 2026.

While the odds of the Angels making the playoffs are virtually zero (FanGraphs has the Halos' playoffs odds at 0.3% ahead of Tuesday's game), the news out of Arlington should make every fans' ears perk up. While obviously no one was rooting for Eovaldi to get hurt, the Angels now have the chance to capitalize on an opportunity they did not foresee. Eovaldi was likely going to get the nod in the rubber match of the Angels-Rangers series, with the team now likely to either make a call up or use their bullpen for the game.

The Rangers boasted the best rotation in the entire league this season, with Eovaldi alongside Jacob DeGrom and Jack Leiter especially dominating opposing lineups. Eovaldi's 1.73 ERA during the 2025 was on track to be a historically great number, but once again injuries have derailed an elite season for the former World Series hero.

As for the Wild Card race, the Rangers sit 5.5 games outside of the third spot currently held by the Seattle Mariners with the Kansas City Royals sandwiched between the two. All three of those teams have been around average in their last ten games, so if the Angels truly do have a winning streak in them there is the smallest of chances they can capitalize on an opportunity here and at least make the final month of the season interesting for their fans.

The injury is unlikely to carry over into 2026 when the Angels figure to be more competitive. However, with an injury history like Eovaldi's it is impossible to say whether or not he wil be as exceptional on the mound next year coming off of this injury. It will be his age-36 season, and every injury he adds on to the list of ailments through his career likely pushes him closer and closer to hanging up the cleats.

And while no one hopes for Eovaldi's career to end due to injury, Angels fans can hope their team can at least seize the moment , fight through their own injuries, and finally make some legitimate noise in the Wild Card race as the season dwindles away.

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