Injury Notes: Simpson, Freeman, Junk, Pereira
Outfielder Chandler Simpson is experiencing left hamstring tightness in early camp, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays will keep him out of the first few exhibition games to allow him time to rest. “Right now, we’re going to slow play him, just get his legs underneath him,” said manager Kevin Cash on Friday. Cash went on to emphasize the value of Simpson’s speed and the importance of getting him back to 100% rather than risk further injury.
Indeed, Simpson is one of the fastest players in the game. His 29.6 MPH sprint speed ranked in the 97th percentile according to Statcast. Meanwhile, his 44 stolen bases in 2025 tied with the Guardians’ Jose Ramirez for second in the majors, with Simpson achieving that in 49 fewer games. That said, while he has value as a speed and contact guy, he’s also limited by on-base and defensive issues. His outfield glovework was viewed negatively by Defensive Runs Saved (-9) and Outs Above Average (-5) in 2025. Continued hamstring issues might hamper his defense even more, so it makes sense for the Rays to ease him into game action.
A few other injury updates around the game:
- Rangers infielder Cody Freeman will be out for 4-6 weeks with a lower back fracture, according to manager Skip Schumaker (link via Shawn McFarland of Dallas Morning News). Freeman felt some discomfort a few days ago that lingered into yesterday, at which point scans revealed the fracture. The 25-year-old made his big-league debut last year, though his line of .228/.258/.342 in 121 plate appearances was underwhelming. He did much better at Triple-A, grading out 31% better than average by wRC+. Freeman was set to compete for an Opening Day roster spot but will now be out until late March at best. He’ll be re-evaluated at that point and will obviously need time to ramp up, so he won’t be ready for Opening Day.
- Marlins right-hander Janson Junk rolled his ankle in team workouts earlier this week. He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 sprain after undergoing testing, though he is now out of his walking boot and playing catch (video from Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). For his part, Junk said on Thursday that he doesn’t expect to miss multiple weeks. The 30-year-old impressed in a swingman role last year, accruing 2.5 fWAR in 110 innings thanks to his sweeper (+8 run value according to Statcast) and a microscopic 2.9% walk rate. He had been building up as a starter thus far. Manager Clayton McCullough confirmed that is still the case and that the team will “just see how this setback… affects what he can end up getting to by the end of camp” (link via De Nicola).
- White Sox outfielder Everson Pereira is currently day-to-day with right side tightness, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The 24-year-old was acquired in a four-player trade with the Rays in November which saw the team part with a solid reliever in Steven Wilson. On that basis, the team was expected to carry the out-of-options Pereira on the roster as a backup outfielder. That may still be the case since Pereira is merely day-to-day and hasn’t been placed on the injured list. Luisangel Acuña is also on hand, though he will split time between the infield and outfield and shouldn’t affect Pereira’s roster spot if the latter is healthy by the end of camp.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
The Rangers’ Wide Open Infield Mix
The Rangers entered the offseason in need of a lineup reboot. They’ve had below-average offenses in consecutive years and haven’t strung together competitive at-bats consistently. They’ve been 20th and 26th, respectively, in on-base percentage over the last two seasons. Their walk rate dropped from 14th to 23rd. Their hitters were among the most aggressive in MLB, both on pitches within and outside the strike zone.
While that needed to be addressed, the front office is seemingly operating within a tight budget. They have five contracts on the books that pay at least $18.5MM annually. They’re now two years removed from their World Series run, and ownership began scaling back spending during the 2023-24 offseason in the wake of the collapse of their local broadcast agreement. Offseason reporting has cast doubt on their chances of meeting the asking price for even mid-tier free agent hitters J.T. Realmuto and Luis Arraez.
Texas has made a pair of significant changes on the offensive side, though they’ve each come with a notable corresponding subtraction. They swapped Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo, taking on more money overall but clearing a little payroll room in the short term. Nimmo provides the patient approach they’re seeking and allowed them to move on from Adolis García in right field. The other change has come behind the plate, where they non-tendered Jonah Heim after a second straight poor season. He has been replaced by Danny Jansen on a two-year free agent deal.
Catcher and the outfield mix are probably set. Jansen joins Kyle Higashioka as a veteran pairing behind the dish. Nimmo slots alongside Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter on the grass. However, they haven’t acquired anyone to replace Semien at second base. It seems they’re planning to do that internally. That’d be a tall ask for an infield group that was a weakness even with Semien.
The Rangers were in the bottom half of MLB in offense from each non-shortstop infield position. Semien’s strong defensive grades kept them above average at second base overall despite his declining production at the dish. The corners were the biggest issue. They had a combined .248/.298/.393 batting line from their first and third basemen.
Most of the positives came from utilityman Josh Smith, who had a .283/.369/.439 showing in his 227 plate appearances at those positions. If the Rangers don’t replace Semien externally, Smith is ticketed for regular playing time at second base. The other nine players who logged any corner infield reps last year combined to hit .241/.283/.384 in nearly 1100 trips.
Three players from that group — Rowdy Tellez, Dylan Moore and Blaine Crim — are no longer on the roster. Former first-round pick Justin Foscue is coming off back-to-back league average seasons in Triple-A and turns 27 before Opening Day. He’s probably on the roster bubble. Ezequiel Duran should be as well, as he’s a .237/.278/.309 hitter over the last two seasons. Joc Pederson made two starts at first base but was otherwise a full-time designated hitter, and he was a major disappointment in the first season of a two-year free agent deal.
As it stands, that leaves three players battling for the remaining two infield spots: Jake Burger, Josh Jung and Cody Freeman. Freeman, who turns 25 today, is coming off a fantastic Triple-A season but hit .228/.258/.342 in 36 MLB games. He’s a gifted contact hitter but doesn’t walk often and has questionable power upside. Freeman did slug a personal-best 19 homers at Triple-A Round Rock last year, but the Pacific Coast League inflates most hitters’ power numbers. He ranked near the bottom of the league in hard contact rate in his brief MLB look.
If Freeman settled in as an everyday third or second baseman, that’d allow Skip Schumaker to move Smith around the infield in a utility role. Freeman feels more like a utility type himself, though. Burger and Jung project as the primary corner infield tandem despite speculation that Texas could move on from one or both players.
The Rangers acquired Burger from the Marlins last offseason. He went on the injured list three times and had a brief stint in Triple-A when he slumped early in the year. Burger concluded his first season in Arlington with a replacement level performance. He hit .236/.269/.419 over 376 plate appearances and offered limited baserunning and defensive value. Burger underwent postseason surgery to address a tendon sheath tear in his left wrist. The hope is that his power was limited by playing through the issue and he can get back to being a 30-homer threat. Burger has never posted an OBP above .310 in a season (excluding a rookie year in which he played in 15 games), so he’s not going to get on base much even if the power returns.
Jung is a similarly aggressive hitter. The Rangers clearly grew frustrated with his approach. They optioned him after he’d hit .158 with a .208 on-base mark in June. He came back on a hot streak a few weeks later, but that was driven by a huge average on balls in play that masked a continuing rough strikeout/walk profile. Jung’s numbers crashed again in September. He finished the season with a .251/.294/.390 slash and seemed like a change-of-scenery candidate coming into the winter. There haven’t been any reports about the Rangers shopping Jung. It seems they’re leaning towards giving him a rebound opportunity, which could be driven by their lack of alternatives.
Maybe that’ll change once Spring Training approaches and free agent prices fall. Alex Bregman or Eugenio Suárez are probably out of their range no matter the timing. If Arraez lingers unsigned into February, could he come into play on a one-year deal? Rhys Hoskins or Yoán Moncada will sign affordable one-year contracts and would at least provide insurance at first or third base, respectively. Ryan Mountcastle should be traded now that the Orioles signed Pete Alonso. Would the Rangers be willing to meet a near-$8MM arbitration projection, or is Mountcastle too similar to Burger? Maybe Bregman signs with a team that has a semi-established third baseman who comes available as a trade chip.
Otherwise, the Rangers would be reliant on a handful of rebound hopefuls and a thin farm system. Top infield prospect Sebastian Walcott could be the answer by the end of the season. He has no Triple-A experience and doesn’t turn 20 until March, so he’s unlikely to break camp. First baseman Abimelec Ortiz hit his way onto the 40-man roster with a .257/.356/.479 showing between the top two minor league levels. Most prospect evaluators feel he projects as a bench bat/Quad-A type, but the opportunity is there if he can outperform that. Texas will need someone unexpected to step up to get enough production on the dirt.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
Rangers Likely To Fill Second Base Internally
Last month’s Marcus Semien-for-Brandon Nimmo swap created a hole at second base in Arlington, but the Rangers don’t plan on going outside the organization to find help at the position. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reports that Texas currently plans to fill that void internally.
That should be good news for 28-year-old Josh Smith, who’s bounced all over the diamond in a utility role over the past few seasons but now looks like a strong candidate for regular work at second base — at least against right-handed pitching. The lefty-swinging former second-round pick was a roughly average hitter in 2025 and a fair bit better than that in 2024. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed a combined .254/.336/.380 (107 wRC+) with 23 homers, 53 doubles, three triples and 23 stolen bases in 1155 plate appearances (293 games).
Second base has actually been Smith’s least-frequent position of the many in which he’s dabbled at the MLB level. He’s played just 41 innings there, although part of the reason for that is Semien’s iron man status at the position. Semien missed a total of four games over his first three seasons in Texas, leaving few opportunities for anyone else at second base. He “only” appeared in 127 games this season, but Texas was also using Smith at the hot corner and in the outfield to help cover for other injuries, so he appeared in just four games at second base. Cody Freeman, Dylan Moore and Ezequiel Duran were more frequent options there in place of Semien.
Duran and Freeman both remain with the organization and are on the 40-man roster. That’s also true of former first-round pick Justin Foscue. Anyone from that group could step up and grab a more prominent role at second base, but none of that group has hit nearly as well as Smith in the majors.
Duran showed some promise in 2023 but has hit just .237/.278/.309 in 504 plate appearances dating back to 2024. Freeman had a terrific showing in Triple-A last year, hitting .336/.382/.549 with just an 8.7% strikeout rate in 97 games. That didn’t carry over to the majors, though. Freeman hit .228/.258/.342 with a 15.7% strikeout rate in 121 turns at the plate. Foscue posted league-average offense in Triple-A this past season but has a bleak .059/.094/.098 slash in an admittedly tiny sample of 53 plate appearances. He’s also long faced defensive questions and has been splitting time between second base and first base in recent seasons.
The most exciting option is likely still a ways down the road. Sebastian Walcott is widely regarded as one of the ten best prospects in the sport. He’s just 19 years old but already held his own against much more advanced Double-A pitching last year, hitting .255/.355/.386 with 13 homers, 32 steals, a 12.7% walk rate and an 18.9% strikeout rate. Walcott, who’ll turn 20 in March, is a shortstop but could move to second base with Corey Seager entrenched at shortstop.
Regardless of exactly what shape it takes, it seems the Rangers will avoid bringing in free agents or trade candidates of note to plug that gap at second base. Given the team’s stated goal of reducing payroll, signing someone like Bo Bichette never seemed viable, but this latest report also strongly suggests that second-tier infield targets like Jorge Polanco and trade targets like Brendan Donovan or Brandon Lowe aren’t going to be a priority.
Adding some additional depth on minor league deals and/or an opportunistic one-year deal for a bargain-bin pickup late in the offseason don’t seem out of the question. Wilson notes that GM Ross Fenstermaker said the club will be opportunistic on that front. For now, however, a splash of any real note doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
In a smaller but notable bit of Rangers news, president of baseball operations Chris Young made clear that he hopes to re-sign reliever Josh Sborz after non-tendering him last week, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Young said his team is “extremely” interested in bringing Sborz back but prefers it to be on a minor league deal.
Sborz didn’t pitch this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in November 2024. The hope was that he’d make his way back to the mound at some point in 2025. He set out on a minor league rehab stint in mid-July but struggled both with results and velocity; Sborz’s fastball was down more than three miles per hour. Texas started and stopped his rehab stint multiple times before shutting him down entirely in early September.
The 31-year-old Sborz (32 in a couple weeks) had a bizarre campaign in 2023, pitching well for much of the season (3.83 ERA through mid-August) before being torched for 13 runs in 7 2/3 frames down the stretch, thereby ballooning his ERA to 5.50. Sborz then bounced all the way back — and then some — in the playoffs, serving as one of then-manager Bruce Bochy’s most trusted relievers. He pitched a dozen innings and allowed only one run (0.75 ERA) on four hits and four walks. He fanned 13.
If another club is willing to put Sborz on its 40-man roster — or offer him a larger salary on a non-guaranteed contract — the Rangers might be hard-pressed to retain the right-hander. Coming off a lost season, however, that’s far from a sure thing. If Sborz does ultimately re-sign on a minor league pact, his track record and familiarity with the organization could give him an inside track on winning a roster spot — provided his shoulder is back up to full strength.
Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager has appendicitis and will undergo an appendectomy. President of baseball operations Chris Young relayed the news to reporters, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, saying that Seager will be “out a period of time” but hasn’t been ruled out for the entire year. Per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports, infielder Dylan Moore will be added to the roster with outfielder Evan Carter moved to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Though Seager isn’t completely ruled out for the season, it’s obviously a rough blow. Seager is the best player on the team. Despite missing some time due to hamstring strains and only playing in 102 games, he has produced four wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs. He has 21 home runs, a 13% walk rate, 19.6% strikeout rate, .271/.373/.487 batting line, 137 wRC+ and excellent grades for his shortstop defense.
No club ever wants to lose its best player to an injury but the Rangers are in an especially precarious spot. They have been hovering around .500 for most of the year, currently sporting a 68-67 record. That puts them 4.5 games back of a playoff spot with a month left to go.
They’re not totally knocked out but they’ve taken a few big punches lately. In the past month-plus, they have lost Seager, Carter, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Burger, Sam Haggerty, Chris Martin, Jon Gray and Cole Winn to the injured list. Carter recently suffered a wrist fracture and this transfer means he’s ineligible to return before mid-October. Semien’s foot injury is going to cost him four to six weeks. Eovaldi’s rotator cuff strain is likely season-ending.
The club still has a chance to make a late charge for a postseason spot but doing so without so many key contributors will be tough. There’s also a ticking clock right now due to some granular MLB rules. The Rangers tried to avoid the competitive balance tax this year but reportedly went just over the line when making upgrades to the roster ahead of the trade deadline. They could sneak back under the tax line if a few players are claimed off waivers. However, a player would only be postseason eligible with a new club if claimed prior to September 1st. Since waivers are a 48-hour process, the Rangers would have to put guys on the wire in the next 24 hours or so, or else they would suddenly have significantly less appeal to other teams.
Merrill Kelly, Tyler Mahle, Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Shawn Armstrong and Patrick Corbin are all impending free agents. They therefore have no value for the Rangers beyond this year. If the club decides to punt on 2025, they could place some or all of them on waivers. It’s unlikely all of them would get claimed but Kelly definitely would and a few others probably would as well. Adolis García can be retained for 2026 but is a non-tender candidate and could make sense for the wire as well.
Time will tell if Seager’s injury pushes them to make that bold decision. For now, Josh Smith will likely step in for Seager at shortstop, per Wilson. That will leave playing time at second, which will be taken by some combination of Ezequiel Durán, Cody Freeman and Moore.
Moore and the Rangers just signed a minor league deal a few days ago after he had been released by the Mariners. He’s having an awful season, which prompted that release. He has a .193/.263/.359 batting line and 35.7% strikeout rate.
He has been better than that in the past. He came into the year with a career .206/.316/.384 line and 102 wRC+, despite striking out in 29.8% of his plate appearances. He had 104 stolen bases and had played every position except catcher.
Though he hasn’t been good this year, he’s essentially free for the Rangers. Since the Mariners released him, they remain on the hook for the majority of his salary. The Rangers only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time he spends on their roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Mariners pay.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
Rangers Select Cody Freeman
The Rangers announced that they have selected contract of infielder Cody Freeman. Infielder Sam Haggerty was placed on the 10-day injured list due to ankle inflammation, retroactive to July 15th. The club had an open 40-man spot after trading Dane Dunning yesterday. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com was among those to relay the moves prior to the official announcement.
Freeman, 24, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. The younger brother of Tyler Freeman of the Rockies, Cody was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2019. Offensively, the younger Freeman provides a contact-forward approach. He has stepped to the plate 2,150 times in the minors with a 15.7% strikeout rate.
He has been at Triple-A for all of this year. In 350 plate appearances at that level, he has an 8.9% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 12 home runs. Even in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, his .315/.367/.494 slash line translates to a 113 wRC+.
Defensively, he is capable of bouncing around. This year, he has mostly been at third base but has also appeared in the middle infield. He has some work at first base and catcher on his track record but not in recent years.
Last month, FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on their list of the top Ranger prospects in the “Contact-Driven Profiles” section. The quick mention of Freeman noted that he would have a future value of 40 on the 20-80 scale if he were a better defender.
Haggerty had been serving in a multi-positional bench role and Freeman will perhaps step up to do the same. As this is his first big league call, he has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back to the minors in the future, if needed.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images