Josh Sborz’s 2025 season will end without any big league action, as Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that Sborz has been shut down from throwing. Sborz underwent right shoulder debridement surgery last November and didn’t return to game action until he tossed two-thirds of an inning with Triple-A Round Rock on July 12.
The right-hander’s rehab assignment had multiple stops and starts, and Sborz finished with a 5.25 ERA over 12 combined innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Beyond the inflated ERA and the walk rate that was much higher than usual, Bochy made note of Sborz’s velocity drop — the reliever was averaging only 91.7 mph on his fastball, which is well beneath his 95.1 mph average from 2024. Sborz isn’t dealing with any new physical issues, but there wasn’t enough time left on the calendar to get him fully ramped up, so the Rangers will instead put Sborz on the shelf until the start of Spring Training.
It is undoubtedly a frustrating outcome for Sborz, who has now seen essentially two full years of his career spoiled by his bothersome right shoulder. He was limited to 16 1/3 innings with Texas in 2024 due to four different IL stints related to rotator cuff strains and shoulder fatigue, and the hope was that his surgery would correct the issue once and for all. The initial projection was that Sborz would miss the first 2-3 months of the 2025 season, yet a slower-than-expected throwing progression set his clock back and resulted in an entirely lost year.
With elbow problems also limiting Sborz to 22 1/3 innings in 2022, the right-hander’s tenure in Arlington consists of a 4.86 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate, and 10.0% walk rate over 143 appearances. Sborz’s 3.46 SIERA over that same stretch is probably a better reflection of his overall performance, even if Sborz has had a tendency to hurt himself by allowing home runs. Despite the inconsistent results, Sborz will be fondly remembered in Texas for his 2023 postseason, as he posted an 0.75 ERA over 12 playoff innings to help the Rangers capture the World Series.
The two injury-plagued seasons have coincided with Sborz’s first two years of arbitration eligibility. He avoided the arb process by agreeing to a $1.1MM salary for 2025, and he’ll get only a minimal raise above the number for 2026. The dollars are small enough that Texas will probably still tender Sborz a contract if the team thinks he’ll be fully ready for next year, though a non-tender and then a re-signing on a non-guaranteed deal is a possibility.
