Rangers Place Evan Carter On 10-Day Injured List

The Rangers placed outfielder Evan Carter on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 17) due to a right quad strain.  Fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar has been activated from his own stint on the 10-day IL to take Carter’s place on the active roster.  Texas also made two more roster moves, optioning right-hander Cole Winn to Triple-A and calling up righty Caleb Boushley.

Carter has a Grade 2 quad strain, as manager Bruce Bochy told the Dallas Morning News’ Shawn McFarland and other reporters.  This means that Carter’s absence will stretch well beyond the 10-day minimum and he is likely facing several weeks or even months on the sidelines.  The injury apparently surfaced yesterday, as Carter was a late scratch from the Rangers’ starting lineup for their game with the Astros.

The quad strain continues Carter’s injury-riddled pro career.  Carter missed a good deal of the 2021 minor league season and most of the 2024 MLB season due to back problems, and arm problems also kept him on the minor league IL for about a month in 2023.  Carter did get healthy in time to make his big league debut in September 2023, and he quickly lived up to his top-prospect status by tearing up the league in both the remainder of the regular season and into the postseason, as Texas went on to win the World Series.

Just when it looked like Carter was a breakout star, however, his bad back limited him to 45 games of action in 2024.  He began this season in the minors and was recalled a couple of weeks ago for his 2025 debut, and Carter has hit only .182/.270/.273 in 37 plate appearances before going on the IL.

In part due to concerns over Carter’s health following his lost 2024 campaign, the Rangers added Pillar as a depth option on a minor league contract back in January.  Pillar made the Opening Day roster and hit .237/.237/.289 over 38 PA before going on the injured list due to lower back inflammation earlier this month.  He’ll return to the roster after missing 15 days of action.