Rangers Option Kumar Rocker

The Rangers optioned rookie starter Kumar Rocker to Triple-A Round Rock before tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. That creates an active roster spot for reliever Chris Martin, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported the moves before the club announcement.

Rocker just returned from a month-long IL stint. He’d been bothered by a shoulder impingement that knocked him out after five appearances. The former third overall pick had a tough April, allowing more than eight earned runs per nine with a diminished 17% strikeout rate. He was hit hard again last night, giving up five runs on six hits and a pair of walks over 3 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay.

The 6’5″ righty also had an ugly mental mistake in yesterday’s game. Jake Mangum was hitting with runners on second and third and two outs in the third inning. He hit a ground-ball to first baseman Jake Burger. Rocker was late off the mound to cover the bag, allowing Mangum to beat it for an RBI infield single. Making matters worse, Rocker continued jogging up the first base line after Burger had flipped him the ball, which allowed the runner from second to score as well.

Manager Bruce Bochy was blunt about the play postgame. “The biggest (mistake) is the fundamental of covering first base. The fundamentals got us tonight. That’s a basic play. It could have saved us two runs,” the veteran skipper told the Texas beat. “He just forgot the situation and the other man on third and it compounded the damage. And that’s the difference in the ball game.”

GM Chris Young told Grant that the demotion was not a punitive decision, instead suggesting that Rocker needs further development time in the minors. It’s difficult to argue given his results this season. The 25-year-old has very little minor league experience. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, his first full professional season. That sidelined him until late last year, when he dominated minor league hitters to earn his MLB debut. He made only 10 minor league appearances, though, tossing 36 2/3 frames overall. He’s made just three career Triple-A starts — one of which was a rehab outing after this year’s shoulder injury.

This temporarily drops Texas to a four-man rotation of Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter. They’re without Nathan Eovaldi until at least next Friday as he battles a triceps issue. They’re off on Monday, so they could get by with a four-man rotation if Eovaldi returns after a minimal stint. They could otherwise use a bullpen game or potentially reselect Dane Dunning onto the 40-man roster if they need to buy some time.