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Cody Bradford

Cody Bradford Undergoes Internal Brace Surgery

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June 27: Bradford underwent the internal brace surgery, which comes with a slightly briefer timeline than a full Tommy John repair (relayed by Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports). He’ll still miss a good chunk of the ’26 campaign.

June 24: Left-hander Cody Bradford is going to undergo season-ending elbow surgery. President of baseball operations Chris Young informed reporters, including Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. It’s still not clear if the lefty will require a full Tommy John surgery or the internal brace alternative, but in either case, he’s done for 2025 and will miss most or all of 2026 as well.

It’s obviously an unfortunate blow for the southpaw and the Rangers. The lefty has shown flashes of being a capable big league starter. He debuted in 2023 and posted a 5.30 earned run average over 56 innings in a swing role. Last year, he missed significant time due to a low back strain but still managed to log 76 1/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate and 4.2% walk rate.

That put him in a good spot to earn a rotation gig in 2025, but that has not come to pass. In the middle of March, he had an MRI due to some elbow soreness, though the imaging came back clean at that time. Nonetheless, the club decided to be cautious and shut him down for four weeks to see how his arm responded. Over the past six weeks, he has been ramping up with bullpens and live batting practice. One week ago, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News relayed that Bradford was on the cusp of a rehab assignment.

Presumably, some renewed soreness or discomfort has popped up in the past week, which then led to further testing and the discovery that surgery will be required. For Bradford personally, that means he won’t get to pitch at all in his age-27 season. Returning in his age-28 campaign is possible but won’t be guaranteed.

He came into 2025 with one year and 86 days of service time. He’s already on the 60-day injured list and will stay there the rest of the year, getting his service clock to 2.086 days in the process. He’ll still be shy of arbitration this winter, so the Rangers will probably keep him on the roster for his rehab, but he’ll need to retake a 40-man spot in the offseason since there’s no IL between the World Series and spring training.

For the Rangers, it’s a hit to their rotation depth for the rest of this year and for 2026 as well. They currently have a starting group consisting of Jacob deGrom, Patrick Corbin, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, with both Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle having hit the IL this month. Jacob Latz has been working a multi-inning role and is making a spot start today. The club is expecting Eovaldi back on this weekend, which could push Latz or Dane Dunning to the minors, with the other in a long relief role.

Going into the deadline, it’s possible the club looks to add to that group. Corbin is more of a serviceable back-end guy these days than the type of arm a club would want starting a playoff game. Leiter and Rocker are both fairly inexperienced with middling results in the big leagues thus far. deGrom and Eovaldi each have great numbers on the year but each has a checkered injury history and is north of 35 years old.

Mahle and Jon Gray could get back in the mix if they recover from their current ailments, though it’s doesn’t appear either is especially close. Mahle has been out for over a week due to shoulder fatigue and will get a follow-up MRI soon, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Gray has been out all season with a wrist fracture and still has yet to begin a rehab assignment.

The health and performance of the group will naturally impact the deadline plans. The club’s record will certainly be a factor as well. They are currently 38-41, which puts them just three games back of a playoff spot, but with several teams bunched together in the American League Wild Card race. The club has also been trying to avoid the competitive balance tax this year, though Leody Taveras getting claimed off waivers by the Mariners earlier this year gave them some notable wiggle room there.

Looking ahead to 2026, Corbin, Mahle and Gray are both impending free agents. That leaves the on-paper rotation as deGrom, Eovaldi, Rocker and Leiter. Prior to today’s news, Bradford could have been in that mix though he now won’t be a factor until partway through the season even in a best-case scenario.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

West Notes: Andujar, Sheets, Betts, Bradford, Sborz

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An oblique injury forced Miguel Andujar into an early exit from the Athletics’ 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays today.  A’s manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reports that Andujar is “most likely” going to be placed on the 10-day injured list, and Andujar will undergo tests on Monday to gauge the severity of the injury.

Now in his second season with the A’s, Andujar has a .296/.328/.402 slash line over 180 plate appearances, or roughly the same production he delivered in 319 PA in 2024.  Splitting his time mostly between left field and third base, Andujar has been a solid player for the Athletics, yet he might now face a lengthy absence given the uncertain nature of oblique-related injuries.  A more severe strain could put Andujar out for months, which would threaten his availability as a trade chip for the July 31 deadline.  Andujar is a free agent after the season, so he is a logical trade candidate for an A’s team that may be moving into seller mode in the wake of a miserable 3-21 stretch over their last 24 games.

More from around both the AL and West divisions…

  • Gavin Sheets also left the Padres’ 6-4 win over the Pirates in the fourth inning after a collision with the left field wall.  That pursuit of Adam Frazier’s home run ball resulted in multiple issues for Sheets, as manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Sheets was being treated for a possible concussion, as well as a “head contusion coupled with a sore hip and a little bit of a jammed wrist and thumb.”  It certainly seems like an IL stint might be in the cards for Sheets, and since Jason Heyward is also sidelined with injury, the Padres’ top left field candidates on the big league roster would be rookie Brandon Lockridge and utilityman Tyler Wade.  Sheets signed a minor league deal with San Diego over the offseason and now looks like a coup for the club, as Sheets has delivered 11 homers and a .267/.323/.494 slash line over 192 PA as a left fielder, first baseman, and designated hitter.
  • Mookie Betts has now missed the Dodgers’ last three games due to a left toe fracture and won’t start on Monday either, as manager Dave Roberts told the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett and other reporters.  Betts is still considered day-to-day with the injury and might be back as early as Tuesday, since he was able to do some hitting in the batting cage and was walking in “pretty normal” fashion, as the shortstop told Plunkett and company.
  • Josh Sborz and Cody Bradford have yet to pitch during the 2025 season, but the Rangers pitchers each threw breaking balls for the first time in bullpen sessions over the few days, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News).  Sborz underwent shoulder surgery last November and was projected to miss the first 2-3 months of the season, so his throwing progression puts him on pace for a return on the far end of that timeline.  Bochy said Sborz and Bradford are expected back roughly around the same time, as Bradford recovers from a sprain in his left elbow that arose during Spring Training.  Bradford is slated to throw two more bullpens before aiming for a live batting-practice session during the second week of June.

Rangers Select Caleb Boushley

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The Rangers announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder Josh Jung has been activated from the 10-day injured list and the club has also selected the contract of right-hander Caleb Boushley. To open active roster spots for those two, the club optioned infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Durán and right-hander Gerson Garabito. To open a 40-man spot for Boushley, left-hander Cody Bradford was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The pitching moves appear to be motivated by recent usage. The Rangers used seven of their eight relievers over the weekend, most of them pitching twice. Garabito was the only member of the bullpen to not pitch in the Friday-Sunday series against the Rays. Yesterday, Nathan Eovaldi was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, with Garabito covering the final 3 1/3 as the Rangers lost 7-0 to the Cubs at Wrigley.

Garabito threw 51 pitches in the process and was likely going to be unavailable for a few days. Instead of proceeding without a long man, the club has tagged in Boushley to take on that job for now. The 31-year-old Boushley signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in the offseason. He posted a 3.27 earned run average in the spring and has a 2.08 ERA in his first two Triple-A starts to begin the year.

His major league track record is fairly minimal. He has only appeared in three big league games, though his debut was a memorable one. He was called up by Milwaukee late in September, with the Brewers having already clinched the National League Central. He pitched the final 2 1/3 innings of a ten-inning walk-off victory, earning the W and a post-game sport-drink shower. He also pitched twice for the Twins last year. He currently has a 4.26 ERA in 6 1/3 innings. In the minors, dating back to the start of 2021, he has a 4.66 ERA in 521 2/3 innings with a 19% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.

Boushley still has options, so he could perhaps be shuttled to Triple-A and back throughout the year, if the Rangers want to keep him available as a long relief guy who can be called upon when needed. In the short term, he’s on hand in the big leagues and will be on hand if they need mop-up work.

They had a spot available on the 40-man due to Bradford’s status. He started the season on the 15-day injured list due to some soreness in his throwing elbow. In the middle of March, the team said he would be shut down for four weeks. Even if he’s healthy at some point in the second half of April, he’ll need to effectively restart his spring ramp-up. This transfer makes him ineligible to be activated until late May at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images

Cody Bradford To Start Season On Injured List

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TODAY: Bradford won’t throw for at least four weeks, Young told Kennedi Landry and other reporters today.  This new timeline likely sidelines Bradford until well into May, as he’ll need plenty of time to rebuild his arm strength once he is cleared to throw.

MARCH 13: Rangers left-hander Cody Bradford is going to start the season on the 15-day injured list. Manager Bruce Bochy passed the news along to reporters, including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. The southpaw has had some soreness in his throwing elbow lately. Thankfully, a recent MRI came back clean, but the club will shut him down for ten days to see how he reacts.

The timeline is fairly uncertain apart from that, as it will depend how Bradford feels after his shutdown period. If he is cleared to throw again in ten days, he will presumably need a few rehab outings to get back into game shape. IL stints can be backdated three days, so it’s theoretically possible Bradford could rejoin the club 12 days into the season if he’s healthy by then, though no one really knows how possible that is.

“I can’t tell you if this is something that’s going to linger and last longer than a day or two to get the soreness knocked out,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “We did take the necessary steps in terms of evaluating. He’s been in touch with Dr. [Keith] Meister [team physician] back in Texas. We are going to shut him down for a few days and see how this goes. Hopefully the time off will allow it to calm down. But anytime the pitcher has pain in the elbow, it’s concerning.”

Over the past two years, Bradford logged 132 1/3 innings for the Rangers, allowing 4.28 earned runs per nine. Last year, a low back strain cost him most of the first half but he finished the year having made 13 starts and one relief appearance, posting a 3.54 ERA. His 22.7% strikeout rate was around league average while his 4.2% walk rate was excellent. That would have lined him up for a rotation spot this year if he were healthy, but he’ll have to focus on his health for the time being.

The Rangers have another starter with a nebulous timeline. Tyler Mahle was scratched from a start earlier this week due to forearm soreness. Like Bradford, his MRI came back clean. He is expected to throw again in a few days, so perhaps his situation is a bit less serious than that of Bradford, though more updates will likely be forthcoming in the next week or so.

For the Opening Day rotation, the Rangers have three spots taken by Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Jacob deGrom. Mahle will have a fourth spot if he can get in game shape in the next couple of weeks. That leaves one or perhaps two spots for Jack Leiter and/or Kumar Rocker.

Between the two prospects and former Vanderbilt rotation mates, Rocker finished 2024 with more steam. He came back from Tommy John surgery and tossed 36 2/3 innings in the minors with a 1.96 ERA, 39.6% strikeout rate, 3.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground ball rate. He then posted a 3.86 ERA in his first three big league starts. Leiter, meanwhile, had an 8.83 ERA in his first 35 2/3 MLB innings.

But Leiter has had the stronger showing in camp, with a 2.53 ERA over his four appearances. His 14.6% walk rate is certainly high but he’s also punched out 31.7% of batters faced in that small sample. Rocker allowed eight earned runs in two official spring innings, though as detailed by Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, he then pitched in an unofficial backfield game which went much better. If Mahle is healthy, the Rangers might have to make a tricky decision between the two, though both might nab rotation spots if Mahle will also need to miss some time.

Rangers’ MRIs On Mahle, Bradford Come Back Clean

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March 12: Mahle’s MRI came back clean, tweets Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. The plan will be for him to get back on the mound within the next few days.

Texas had another injury scare pop up when southpaw Cody Bradford reported elbow soreness, but he’s also received a clean MRI, president of baseball operations Chris Young announced this morning (via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). He’ll still be shut down from throwing for the next four to five days in hopes that the discomfort subsides, but the imaging seems to have ruled out a severe injury.

March 11: The Rangers scratched right-hander Tyler Mahle from today’s scheduled Cactus League start with what the team termed “forearm soreness,” per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers called the move precautionary, but forearm discomfort is always an ominous development for a starting pitcher — particularly one who’s still working toward his first full season since 2023 Tommy John surgery. At this time, the team has not planned an MRI, per Victory’s Jared Sandler.

Mahle, 30, started five games for the Twins in 2023 and pitched quite well before an elbow impingement and flexor strain prompted a four-week shutdown. Not even two weeks later, Minnesota announced that Mahle would require Tommy John surgery, ending his 2023 campaign.

Mahle became a free agent at season’s end, and the Rangers signed him to a two-year, $22MM deal. It’s a backloaded contract — $5.5MM in 2024, $16.5MM in 2025 — reflecting the idea that the hope was for Mahle to pitch a bit late in 2024 and be a full-fledged member of the 2025 starting staff. It was a heavier commitment than is typical for starters who sign two-year deals while they’re on the mend from UCL reconstruction in the first place, and the fact that Mahle pitched only 12 2/3 frames last year makes the commitment all the more substantial.

At his best, Mahle was an underrated mid-rotation arm with an air of further upside. Home runs plagued him frequently during his early days with the Reds, and it comes as no surprise that his splits away from the launching pad known as Great American Ball Park were far more encouraging than his output at home. Mahle showed plenty of ability to miss bats and posted roughly average walk rates for most of his career.

A healthy Mahle would slot into the middle of a boom-or-bust Texas rotation that’s rife with talented arms and even more packed with questions. Jacob deGrom was baseball’s most dominant arm until injuries derailed his mid-30s. He’s pitched 197 1/3 innings since 2021. Nathan Eovaldi was excellent in his first two seasons with the Rangers but has already had a pair of Tommy John procedures in his career. Jon Gray has been on the injured list in each of the past six seasons. Cody Bradford missed about half of the 2024 season with a back injury. Jack Leiter, who started in place of Mahle today, is a former No. 2 overall pick who has struggled immensely in the big leagues (8.83 ERA, 35 2/3 innings) and through much of his pro career in the minors. Former Vanderbilt teammate Kumar Rocker has surpassed Leiter in terms of prospect stature, but he’s less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery himself.

If Mahle ultimately needs some downtime, the Rangers can still go with a rotation including Eovaldi, deGrom, Gray, Bradford and one of Leiter/Rocker. Prospect Emiliano Teodo is also on the 40-man roster but the club intrigued by the possibility of him in a relief role, while non-roster candidates in camp include Adrian Houser, David Buchanan, Dane Acker and Caleb Boushley.

Rangers Notes: Rocker, Eovaldi, Langford

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Rangers righty Kumar Rocker made his Spring Training debut today against the Royals. The results weren’t good — he allowed four runs in his inning of work — but that’s inconsequential this early in camp.

As Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News writes, manager Bruce Bochy and GM Chris Young have left open the possibility for Rocker to break camp. That might require an injury elsewhere in the rotation, however, as it seems Rocker enters Spring Training sixth on the depth chart. Texas has a veteran top four: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray. The fifth spot could come down to a battle between Rocker and left-hander Cody Bradford — with the latter potentially having the leg up.

“We’re going to see where we come out of camp, where we are from a medical standpoint, who’s healthy, how guys have thrown the ball, but (Rocker is) certainly one that is in our plans,” Young said. “We just can’t tell you exactly how at this point.” The third overall pick in the 2022 draft, Rocker earned a brief debut last September. He started three games, allowing six runs (five earned) through 11 2/3 innings. The 6’5″ righty recorded 14 strikeouts with an excellent 13.3% swinging strike rate. It’s an exceedingly small sample, but he looks capable of missing bats at the highest level.

Rocker averaged 96 MPH on his heater, while opponents had few answers for his slider. The latter pitch may already be one of the game’s top breaking balls. Baseball America graded the slider as a plus-plus offering (70 on the 20-80 scale) while ranking Rocker among their top 20 prospects. The 25-year-old will certainly be a factor at some point this season, though it remains to be seen how the Rangers want to handle his workload. Rocker underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and has all of 19 professional appearances under his belt. He has tallied fewer than 30 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Rocker carved up minor league hitters upon returning from the surgery, working to a 1.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 36 2/3 frames over 10 appearances.

The 27-year-old Bradford has almost the polar opposite approach. He’s a soft-tossing lefty who relies on a plus changeup and elite command. Despite lacking huge stuff, Bradford turned in a 3.54 ERA with a solid 22.7% strikeout rate over 76 1/3 innings last season. A back injury cost him three months, but he was a quietly productive starter when healthy. Both Rocker and Bradford have minor league options remaining. While Dane Dunning remains on hand as well, he’s likelier to pitch in long relief after a rough ’24 season.

There’s no doubt about Eovaldi’s role. He’ll be back in the top half of the rotation after re-signing on a three-year, $75MM free agent deal. The 13-year MLB veteran has been incredibly consistent, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA in five straight seasons. That hasn’t stopped him from using exhibition play to tinker with his arsenal.

Eovaldi told reporters last week that he has been working on a two-seam fastball throughout the offseason (link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). The righty confirmed that he used it a few times in his Spring Training debut on Friday against Kansas City. Brooks Baseball tracked five of his pitches as sinkers (which is the two-seam fastball) over two innings. Eovaldi has had a five-pitch mix for most of his career: four-seam, splitter, cutter, curveball and a slider that he only throws against right-handed hitters. He told Landry and other reporters that he’ll continue to work on the two-seam, which he wants to run up and in against righty batters to keep them off the splitter lower in the zone.

One player who has yet to get his exhibition season underway: second-year left fielder Wyatt Langford. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports was among those to report last week that Langford was being held back from baseball activities for a few days after being diagnosed with a mild oblique strain. Bochy maintained that the Rangers consider this a minor setback and anticipate that Langford will be ready for Opening Day. He’ll look to build off a solid rookie season in which he hit .253/.325/.415 with 16 homers across 557 plate appearances.

Rangers Make 11 Roster Moves

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5:33PM: Gray will miss roughly a month of action, Bochy told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) and other reporters.

3:43PM: The Rangers announced a massive slate of roster moves this afternoon. Third baseman Josh Jung and left-hander Cody Bradford were each reinstated from the 60-day injured list while the club also recalled infielder Ezequiel Durán and righty Gerson Garabito.  To open roster spots for that quartet, right-hander Jon Gray was placed on the 15-day IL with a right groin strain, and Texas optioned three others to Triple-A — catcher Andrew Knizner, and infielders Justin Foscue and Jonathan Ornelas.  To open 40-man spots for Jung and Bradford, outfielder Evan Carter was transferred to the 60-day injured list and infielder Davis Wendzel was designated for assignment. Additionally, righty Austin Pruitt (who was on the 60-day IL) has been released.

Jung and Bradford are each set for their first MLB action since April, as Jung is returning from a complicated wrist surgery and Bradford was dealing with both a back strain and then a stress fracture in his rib.  Jung broke his wrist after being hit by a pitch in his fourth game of the season, while Bradford had an impressive 1.40 ERA in his first three starts (19 1/3 IP) before he was sidelined.

Emerging as the Rangers’ regular third baseman during his impressive rookie season, Jung helped the Rangers win last year’s World Series and was expected to continue developing in his sophomore year.  The good news for Texas is that Josh Smith’s strong work as the fill-in third baseman has helped the team make do in Jung’s absence, and with Jung now back, Smith can be bounced around the diamond to left field or DH so the Rangers can keep his bat in the lineup.

Despite Bradford’s great early numbers as a starter, the Rangers have already announced that he’ll return in a bullpen role.  Bradford was pressed into rotation duty at the start of the year due to the lengthy list of Texas pitchers on the IL, but with many of those arms now back, the Rangers find themselves with a pitching surplus on paper if everyone is healthy.  To this end, the club felt comfortable enough to subtract from this depth by trading Michael Lorenzen to the Royals.

However, the injury bug bit again yesterday when Gray injured his groin while warming up for his scheduled start against the Blue Jays.  Gray departed without throwing a pitch, and the right-hander will be out for at least the next 15 days.  Bradford has only worked as a multi-inning reliever during his rehab assignment and isn’t fully stretched out to start, but the Rangers have an off-day on Thursday and Tyler Mahle is on the verge of his own return from the IL, so Mahle seems the likeliest candidate to take Gray’s spot in the rotation in a week’s time.

This is Gray’s second groin-related IL stint this season, as he missed a couple of weeks in May and June with his previous injury.  When healthy, the righty has a 3.73 ERA and an impressive 5.8% walk rate over 94 innings, though he has allowed a lot of hard contact and his 19.7% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career over a full season.

Carter hasn’t played May 26 due to a lumbar sprain in his back, so he could technically return at any time since he has already missed over 60 days.  However, manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com and other media that Carter is set to visit a back specialist to explore some recurring soreness, and the Rangers have shut the outfielder down from the baseball activities Carter was taking part in prior to this recent development.

More will be known once Carter sees the specialist, but it’s obviously a concern that that the 21-year-old doesn’t appear to be any closer to a return.  Carter’s huge numbers after his Major League debut late last season and through the postseason provided the Rangers with a huge spark on their route to the championship, but with his bad back hampering him this year, Carter has hit only .188/.272/.361 in his first 162 PA of the 2024 campaign.

Pruitt signed a minors deal with Texas during the offseason, and that contract was selected to the active roster in April.  Pruitt appeared in only four games before a right meniscus injury sent him to the 15-day IL and then the 60-day IL.  He has spent the last month rehabbing in the minors and was at the end of the 30-day window for minor league rehab assignments, so the Rangers opted to release the righty rather than bring him back to the 26-man roster.  A veteran of seven MLB seasons, Pruitt will hit the open market again, though it might not be a surprise to see him re-sign with Texas pretty quickly on a fresh minor league deal.

Wendzel was selected 41st overall by the Rangers in the 2019 draft, and he made his big league debut this season the form of 27 games and 49 plate appearances.  He saw some work at third base during Jung’s IL stint, but Wendzel mostly came off the bench, and he hit just .128/.163/.234 in his first look at MLB pitching.

The 27-year-old has hit well at Triple-A over the last two seasons, including a 30-homer campaign for Round Rock in 2023.  Wendzel has mostly played third base and shortstop during his minor league career with a few other looks at the other two infield spots and in left field, so between this defensive versatility and his Triple-A numbers, he might be a candidate to be claimed by a team in need of infield depth.

Latest On Rangers’ Rotation, Trade Possibilities

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The Rangers have patched together their rotation for much of the season as they anticipate the returns of veterans Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom. Scherzer has already returned. Mahle is set to make his fifth minor league rehab start today and should make his Rangers debut before long. It’ll be a bit longer before deGrom makes it back, but he tossed a 40-pitch bullpen just yesterday, per Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com. Left-hander Cody Bradford is on a minor league rehab assignment and expected to return soon, though Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that he’ll work out of the bullpen upon his return. Texas reinstated righty Dane Dunning from the injured list earlier today, too. He’s in the ’pen for now but could move back to a starting role depending on how the next week goes.

What once was a starting pitching hodgepodge looks increasingly enviable. If Mahle is cleared to return after today’s start, he’ll join Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Michael Lorenzen, Andrew Heaney and Dunning as viable rotation options, with Bradford in the bullpen and deGrom looming on the horizon. That’s nine MLB-caliber starters, to say nothing of veteran starter Jose Ureña (who started six games but is in the bullpen presently).

With so many options suddenly at their fingertips, there’s been plenty of speculation about the Rangers trading from that stockpile of arms — even as they narrow the deficit in the postseason hunt. Texas has won four straight games. The Mariners have lost three straight. The Rangers now sit only three games back of the first-place Astros in the West and are just 5.5 games out in the Wild Card hunt. They’re not going to operate as a pure seller, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggests that Lorenzen or perhaps even Gray could be moved before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Lorenzen, 32, signed with the Rangers on a one-year, $4.5MM deal in spring training. It was a bargain price for a veteran righty coming off a solid season, and he’s proven to be well worth the investment. He’s pitched 97 innings over the course of 17 starts and turned in a 3.53 ERA. Lorenzen’s 18.5% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate both leave plenty to be desired and point to some likely ERA regression, but he’s been precisely the type of veteran rotation stabilizer the Rangers hoped to be acquiring when signing him.

As of deadline day, Lorenzen will have just $1.5MM of that base salary yet to be paid out. He’s already picked up $800K of innings-based incentives and will get another $200K when he reaches 100 innings, likely in his next start. Assuming that comes with the Rangers — he’s their probable starter Saturday — a new team would be on the hook for the remaining portion of his base and additional incentives he’d unlock by reaching 120 innings ($300K), 140 innings ($350K), 160 innings ($400K) and 180 innings ($450K). He’s on pace to barely reach that final milestone.

At most, a team adding Lorenzen would pay around $1.5MM in base salary and an additional $1.5MM worth of incentives. If Lorenzen is pitching well enough to reach that 180-inning mark, it’d be considered money well spent. If nothing else, a budget-conscious team looking to add a stable starter (e.g. Twins, Guardians) could view Lorenzen as an affordable option.

Gray would be a more surprising trade candidate. He’s in the third season of a four-year, $56MM contract that’s paying $13MM both this year and next. Thus far, he’s posted 94 innings of 3.73 ERA ball on the season. While Gray’s 19.7% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career (aside from the shortened 2020 season), his 5.8% walk rate is a career-best mark. He’s still averaging 95 mph with his heater, while his opponents’ chase rate and swinging-strike rate are roughly in line with his 2022-23 marks.

Rosenthal also cites a pair of names the Rangers would prefer to hang onto even as they ponder trading from their rotation depth: Eovaldi and Heaney. The former is well on his way to vesting a $20MM player option for the 2025 season. That option would decrease his trade value — a new team would be stuck with the $20MM in the event of a major, post-trade injury. Beyond that, Eovaldi has been one of the team’s best arms this season, notching a 3.31 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate in 106 innings. He’d likely be ticketed for their playoff rotation, should they get there. And, even if they don’t, the Rangers might simply hope Eovaldi stays healthy and enjoys pitching in his home state enough that he’d pick up that player option for the 2025 season.

As for Heaney, he’s turned things around after a shaky first season in Texas. The veteran southpaw boasts a 3.60 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate in exactly 100 innings. He’s a free agent at season’s end, so one would imagine he’s an on-paper trade candidate in this scenario where Texas deals from its excess. However, the Rangers don’t have an established left-hander in their bullpen. Brock Burke was excellent in 2022 but took a step back in ’23 and was optioned earlier this season after being shelled through 9 2/3 innings. Rookie Jacob Latz has a solid 3.68 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, but he’s walked 13.5% of his opponents. Bradford could possibly fill that role, but he’s yet to return from a stress reaction in his ribcage.

Heaney has experience pitching both as a starter and reliever, including during his time with Texas. He’s throwing well right now but would likely be pushed out of a theoretical postseason rotation. In that setting, he could slide into the bullpen and match up against tough lefties and/or provide multiple innings in long relief.

Rangers Notes: Carter, Mahle, Bradford, Foscue

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The Rangers placed Evan Carter on the injured list last week, initially announcing the issue as back tightness. Manager Bruce Bochy provided more specifics yesterday, telling reporters (including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com) that the rookie left fielder is dealing with a stress reaction. Texas expects Carter to miss upwards of a month.

It has been a challenging first full MLB season for Carter. The 21-year-old top prospect debuted late in 2023 and immediately cemented himself as a key piece of the franchise’s first World Series run. Carter hit .300/.417/.500 in 17 postseason games, making him a popular Rookie of the Year pick in 2024. He has had a much tougher go through this season’s first couple months, running a .188/.272/.361 line with a 26.5% strikeout rate over 162 plate appearances.

Carter admitted he played through back discomfort for a couple weeks before the IL placement. That certainly could’ve played a role in his middling offense. He remains an integral piece of the Rangers’ plans for this season and beyond, but he’ll be down for a few weeks. Wyatt Langford has stepped into left field, opening some DH at-bats for Robbie Grossman and Ezequiel Duran.

Texas received better news on a few other injured players this week. Offseason signee Tyler Mahle threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time in his recovery from Tommy John surgery (link via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). Mahle is ticketed for three more live sessions before he could head on a minor league rehab stint. If all goes smoothly, he should be on track for his Rangers debut a couple weeks after the All-Star Break.

Mahle is around 13 months removed from the elbow procedure that ended his tenure with the Twins. The right-hander was barely able to pitch for Minnesota. He was a mid-rotation starter with the Reds before that, pitching 180 innings of 3.75 ERA ball while striking out more than 27% of opponents three years ago. The Rangers guaranteed him $22MM on a backloaded two-year deal in December.

Texas has a full rotation on the injured list. Jon Gray has had a fairly brief stint related to a groin strain, but the other four pitchers have faced long recovery timelines. Mahle, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are still rehabbing from 2023 surgeries. Cody Bradford has been out since mid-April with a stress fracture in his rib. The southpaw told reporters that he has progressed to throwing from 120 feet on flat ground (X link via Landry). Bradford opened the season as the fifth starter and turned in a 1.40 ERA over 19 1/3 innings in three appearances before the injury.

On the position player side, Texas has been without rookie infielder Justin Foscue for nearly the entire season. The Rangers called up the former first-round draftee on April 2. He took two plate appearances before sustaining a left oblique strain that pushed him to the 60-day injured list. Foscue will be eligible for reinstatement in the next few days and seems to be on track for a return. Texas assigned him to the Arizona complex league to begin a rehab assignment tonight. The Rangers might not have an immediate MLB roster spot for Foscue, as Josh Smith has played very well at third base while Josh Jung has been on the shelf.

Rangers Place Jon Gray On 15-Day Injured List

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The Rangers are placing right-hander Jon Gray on the injured list due to a groin strain, manager Bruce Bochy announced this morning (X link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The team is terming it a “mild” strain, but it’ll nevertheless be enough to sit Gray down for at least the next 15 days. In a corresponding move, Texas will select the contract of right-hander Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock. Left-hander Cody Bradford is being transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to accommodate Tinoco’s addition. Bradford has already missed six weeks with a back strain and stress fracture in his ribs.

Gray joins an an entire rotation’s worth of starters on the injured list in Texas. The Rangers are also without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi and the aforementioned Bradford at the moment. That’ll leave Texas with a rotation including Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Michael Lorenzen, Jose Ureña and a yet-to-be-determined fifth option. (Tinoco is a reliever and won’t step onto the starting staff.) The top depth options on the 40-man roster include Jack Leiter and Owen White. While Leiter has thrived pitching in Triple-A, both of those once-vaunted prospects has struggled in the big leagues this season.

Subtracting Gray from the roster would be a notable blow even without that litany of other injuries. The former No. 3 overall draft pick is out to perhaps the best start of his career, pitching to a tiny 2.21 ERA through his first 57 frames of the season. Gray’s 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground-ball rate are all at or slightly better than the league average. His ERA is being helped out by a microscopic 3.3% homer-to-flyball rate that’s helped him average just 0.32 homers per nine frames this season. But even metrics that normalize home run rate (e.g. his 3.68 SIERA) suggest Gray has still been a decidedly above-average hurler thanks to that strong blend of whiffs, grounders and walks (or lack thereof).

Tinoco, 29, will return for a second stint with the Rangers. He pitched in the Texas organization in 2022, famously giving up Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62nd home run late in the season. That’s a down note in what was otherwise a strong year. In 20 2/3 frames with the Rangers he logged a 2.18 ERA — albeit with lackluster strikeout and walk rates of 21.4% and 11.9%, respectively.

Tinoco spent the 2023 season with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and handled himself well for the most part, but he returned stateside on a minor league pact with the Rangers over the winter. He’s gotten out to a decent start in Round Rock, pitching to a 3.80 earned run average and fanning just over 30% of his opponents in 21 1/3 innings. Overall, Tinoco has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons and compiled 66 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 13.9% walk rate and 44% grounder rate. Command has clearly been an issue for him throughout his professional career, and that’s been the case again in 2024, evidenced by an 11.2% walk rate in Round Rock.

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