Rangers To Place Wyatt Langford On IL With Flexor Strain
The Rangers are going to place outfielder Wyatt Langford on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain. The player himself told members of the media, including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. It’s a grade 1 strain and Langford expects it will just be a minimal stint. Fellow outfielder Alejandro Osuna will be recalled as the corresponding move.
It’s a bit of an unusual injury situation. Flexor strains are common for pitchers but not so much for position players. It also appears that Langford didn’t hurt himself throwing but rather on a swing, as he told reporters last night, including Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. It’s possible that Langford has been banged up for a decent chunk of the season so far. He also suffered a small quad strain a couple of weeks ago but didn’t land on the IL at that time.
He has a .238/.274/.363 batting line and 78 wRC+ through his first 84 plate appearances. That’s well below his normal production, as he hit .247/.335/.423 for a 115 wRC+ over the previous two campaigns. Though it’s not good that he now has this flexor strain to deal with, perhaps some time on the shelf will be the reset he needs to get healthy and back on track.
The Rangers have primarily had an outfield trio of Langford in left, Evan Carter in center and Brandon Nimmo in right. Sam Haggerty, Ezequiel Durán and Andrew McCutchen have chipped in on occasion. Those three and Osuna are now options to cover left field while Langford is out.
McCutchen is 39 years old and has mostly been a designated hitter in recent years. The last time he played more than eight games in the outfield was 2022. He has said that was the Pirates’ preference and not his own but is still seems unlikely the Rangers would throw him out there on a regular basis.
Duran has a strong .298/.353/.447 line so far this year and could perhaps step up for more regular work, especially with Haggerty hitting .154/.214/.154 on the season. Durán’s production is helped by a .371 batting average on balls in play but he’s also showing improvement elsewhere, as this year’s walk and strikeout rates would be career highs if he could maintain them.
Osuna made his big league debut last year and slashed .212/.313/.278 in 176 trips to the plate. He’s been better in the minors but is out to a slow-ish start this year. His .262/.355/.354 line translates to a 91 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He had a much more robust .292/.493/.417 line at that level last year, though in an equally small sample of 67 plate appearances. Osuna is a lefty, so perhaps the Rangers could do some platooning, as both Durán and McCutchen are righties.
Photo courtesy of Jim Cowsert, Imagn Images
Wyatt Langford Leaves Game Due To Quad Tightness, Will Undergo MRI
5:11 pm: Langford has a “small strain” in his right quad, according to McFarland. He expects to be out for 2-3 days and possibly pinch hit tomorrow. He will avoid the injured list.
8:16 am: Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford left Friday’s 8-7 loss to the Dodgers due to tightness in his right quad. Langford told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that he felt the injury was “pretty minor,” but he’ll undergo an MRI today to explore the quad issue.
Somewhat unusually, the injury occurred when Langford hit a home run in the top of the fifth inning. Langford said he “reached down” to make contact with Tyler Glasnow‘s pitch, and in the process created some discomfort in his quad that began to surface as he rounded the bases. Langford remained in left field for the bottom of the fifth, but was replaced by Ezequiel Duran in the bottom of the sixth. Duran, Sam Haggerty, and Andrew McCutchen could all end up seeing time in left field if Langford ends up on the injured list.
Getting hurt on a homer adds to the snake-bitten nature of Langford’s start to the 2026 season. Langford’s first home run was just his ninth hit in 53 plate appearances, as the outfielder is batting .170/.185/.340. His exit velocity and hard-contact numbers are all at least at league average, so a .205 BABIP may be somewhat to blame for Langford’s struggles, though he has also recorded only one walk against 13 strikeouts.
After hitting .247/.335/.423 with 38 homers over his first 1130 PA in the majors, Langford was viewed as a candidate for a true breakout in his third Major League season. Obviously there’s still plenty of time for Langford to heat up at the plate, though if Friday’s quad tightness lands Langford on the IL, it will mark the fifth IL stint of his young career. As McFarland notes, the previous four placements were also for soft tissue injuries — a hamstring strain that cost him about three weeks in 2024, and then three separate oblique strains in 2025.
Rangers Notes: Langford, Smith, Foscue
Spring Training is the most common time of year for teams and players to discuss extensions. As exhibition play gets underway, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News chatted with Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford about the possibility of a long-term deal.
While Langford broadly expressed an openness to the conversation, he didn’t seem to feel pressure to get something done. “Amazing stadium, facilities, people and leadership here. So there’s really a lot to like about it. I definitely would be open to it. There’s no rush to do anything,” the 24-year-old said. “That’s my … view on it. No matter what, I’m going to be here for four more seasons, unless I get traded or something.”
Langford broke camp in 2024 and has exactly two years of MLB service. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter. As he mentioned, he’s four years away from free agency (barring a massive change to the process in the next set of collective bargaining negotiations). He’s on track to hit the market before his age-28 season.
While Langford has played for roughly league minimum salaries in each of the last two years, he banked an $8MM signing bonus as the fourth overall pick in 2023. He has also earned close to $1MM over the past two seasons via the pre-arbitration bonus pool. Langford should be well positioned financially to go year by year if he wants to bet on himself.
Grant writes that there haven’t been any recent conversations on the extension front. He reports that they had some brief talks last offseason that didn’t progress and haven’t resumed. It’d hardly be a surprise if the front office checks in with his representatives at Wasserman closer to Opening Day.
Langford is coming off a .241/.344/.431 showing with 22 homers and stolen bases apiece across 573 plate appearances. He’s an excellent corner outfield defender who could play center field if the club needed. They’re likely to use him primarily in right field alongside Evan Carter and Brandon Nimmo, but Langford could kick in to center if Carter suffers another injury.
He’s a year closer to free agency than Jackson Merrill was when he signed an eight-year, $135MM extension last April. He’s a better defender than Tyler Soderstrom, who signed for $86MM at the same age and service class in December. Langford isn’t going to approach the $289MM guarantee which Bobby Witt Jr. commanded as a franchise shortstop, but his camp could seek between $150-200MM to sign away multiple free agent years.
Langford is locked into an everyday outfield role, but Texas has a few position battles to sort through during camp. Although second base appeared to be one such position, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News writes it seems to be Josh Smith’s job to lose. The utilityman has started both of his exhibition appearances at the keystone and been lifted mid-game along with the team’s other projected everyday players.
Smith seemed the in-house favorite to replace Marcus Semien from the time that Texas dealt the veteran infielder to the Mets for Nimmo. Cody Freeman had the best opportunity to push him for that job, but he’s going to miss virtually all of Spring Training after being diagnosed with a fracture in his lower back. Ezequiel Duran should step into Smith’s previous role as a utility infielder.
Former first-round pick Justin Foscue has taken the bulk of his minor league work at second base. Foscue has virtually no MLB track record, however, and Texas is planning to get him some outfield work in camp. That’d give him a better chance of winning a bench job. That hit a bit of a snag this afternoon, as the 26-year-old left Monday’s game with right hamstring discomfort (relayed by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). Foscue had started the game at first base. He singled in his first at-bat but was removed after one inning.
Rangers Notes: Langford, Carter, Smith, Dorton
The Rangers will have a new-look outfield after non-tendering Adolis García and swapping Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo. The pair of moves seemingly positions Wyatt Langford to move from left field to the opposite corner. While that might still be the case, manager Skip Schumaker left open the possibility of using Langford as a center fielder in 2026 (relayed by Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News).
Langford has some experience up the middle. He has started 50 games and logged 414 1/3 innings there in the big leagues. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have liked his work. It’s a limited sample, but Langford has posted excellent marks in nearly 1700 innings in left field. He’s an excellent runner underway and has gotten solid grades from Statcast for his first-step reads. Langford’s arm isn’t spectacular but also isn’t poor enough to limit him to left field.
It’s rare for a college corner outfielder to move up the defensive spectrum in pro ball. Langford played left at the University of Florida as well, though that was in deference to two players whom scouts regarded as plus defenders up the middle. He hit his way to the big leagues so quickly that the Rangers didn’t have time to get him much minor league work in center. Texas used Leody Taveras as their center fielder in 2024 and gave Evan Carter the majority of the reps there this past season.
Carter is back and could certainly stake a claim to the center field role. He has battled injuries and been a little up-and-down since his sensational debut late in 2023. The Rangers have also used Carter in a strict platoon capacity, giving him a total of 68 career plate appearances versus lefty pitching. He has all of five MLB hits against southpaws. Schumaker suggested they could open up a few more left-on-left looks for Carter this season — even if they try to ease him in against less imposing arms.
“In this league, you earn your stripes, but you have to give them opportunity to earn their stripes,” Schumaker said (video via DLLS Sports). “There are elite, ace-type lefties who are challenging for lefties and righties, and then there are some lefties you feel really comfortable letting them hit against — whether it’s a starter or maybe a middle reliever.”
If Carter finds success against southpaws, the Rangers could have him flanked by Nimmo and Langford. The latter could slide over to center field against the toughest left-handed opposition, opening the door for Texas to mix in another righty bat off the bench. Fourth outfielder Michael Helman popped five home runs over 38 games in a late-season look, but he’s approaching his 30th birthday and had a .294 on-base percentage in Triple-A this year.
Adding a right-handed bench bat would make some sense, though the Rangers appear to be up against a very tight line financially. They need to add at least a part-time catcher, a starting pitcher, and an entire bullpen. Upgrading on Jake Burger at first base would be ideal, but that might not be within the budget. Luis Arraez has been a speculated target based on his ties to Schumaker from the Marlins and the Rangers’ desire to make more contact. However, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote last week that Arraez might be out of their price range even on the heels of a down year in San Diego.
For similar reasons, Texas expects to replace Semien at second base internally. Utilityman Josh Smith should enter camp as the favorite. Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News relayed word from Schumaker that Smith has a decent chance to win the job, though Cody Freeman and Ezequiel Duran are also in the mix. The lefty-hitting Smith has been a little better than average at the plate over the past two seasons. There has been some in-season volatility, as the LSU product has been much better in the first half in consecutive years.
In one bit of non-playing news, the Rangers are hiring Eric Dorton as a third hitting coach (as first reported by Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports). He’ll work alongside Alex Cintrón as an assistant to lead hitting instructor Justin Viele. It’s an internal promotion. The 36-year-old Dorton has been in the organization since 2019 and was previously a minor league hitting coordinator. This is his first MLB coaching job.
Nimmo, Stearns, Young Discuss Semien Trade
The Mets and Rangers lined up on a surprising one-for-one swap over the weekend, with outfielder Brandon Nimmo heading to Texas and infielder Marcus Semien to Queens. Today, members of the media got to speak with many of the parties involved. Arguably, the most notable comment came from Nimmo himself, who waived his no-trade clause to become a Ranger. “I would not have waived that no-trade clause if I didn’t think I could come here and win,” Nimmo said, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News.
It has been fair to wonder about the direction of the Rangers recently, as they’ve clearly been trying to dial back their spending. They pushed their competitive balance tax a bit over the line in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, they hoped to duck under the line but may have gone over with in-season trades, such as acquiring Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks. Their 2025 status won’t be official until MLB releases the final calculations, likely in December, but it’s possible the Rangers will be tax payors for a third straight season.
Even if they did go over the line, it was surely by a narrow margin, so the tax bill won’t be huge. Regardless, it seems they are going to be extra motivated to pinch pennies in 2026. The club parted ways with manager Bruce Bochy at the end of the regular season. President of baseball operations Chris Young admitted that the club didn’t have a lot of financial certainty, which played a role in that separation. Esteemed pitching coach Mike Maddux also left, heading to the Angels, which prompted speculation that was financially motivated as well.
In terms of the roster construction, the Rangers were recently trying to trade outfielder Adolis García and catcher Jonah Heim, despite both players being part of the 2023 championship club. Each could have been retained via arbitration for 2026 but the Rangers clearly didn’t want to pay them at their projected prices. Ultimately, no trade came together. On Friday, the Rangers non-tendered both, along with relievers Jacob Webb and Josh Sborz.
Amid all of that, rumors have swirled that the Rangers could trade a more expensive franchise players such as Corey Seager or Semien as part of a larger step back. Now Semien has indeed been traded but the Rangers have taken on another sizable contract by getting Nimmo in return. The remaining contracts are somewhat analogous, with Nimmo making less annually, but signed for two extra years. The Rangers are therefore taking on more money overall but less per year.
It seems that Nimmo has been assured that the club is still planning to compete and isn’t doing a big teardown. That’s somewhat encouraging for fans in Texas but the club will probably still have some tight parameters to deal with. RosterResource estimates the club has a pure payroll of $169MM next year and a competitive balance tax figure of $187MM. Last year, those numbers were $224MM and $237MM.
Getting back up to those levels would give the Rangers roughly $50MM to work with but the signs are pointing to them setting a lower target. They have a number of things on the to-do list this winter. The rotation could use some shoring up. Almost the entire bullpen reached free agency, meaning there’s work to do there. Replacing Heim behind the plate and potentially Semien at second are other potential areas to target, though it’s possible the Rangers are happy with Willie MacIver as a backup to Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. It’s also possible they feel Josh Smith and/or Sebastian Walcott can take over at the keystone.
President of baseball operations Chris Young also spoke today and echoed Nimmo’s comments that the Rangers want to win. “I do think we are focused on winning moving forward,” Young said, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. “The last two years have been very difficult as we feel like we have not lived up to our expectations, and when you don’t meet expectations, you have to make tough calls, and that’s part of this.”
Young also said Nimmo will likely end up in right field, per McFarland, but there are still conversations to be had there. Nimmo has primarily been a left fielder in recent years, with Statcast ranking him as having 48th percentile arm strength. The Rangers could perhaps keep Nimmo in left while moving Wyatt Langford to right. Langford’s arm strength was slightly ahead of Nimmo in 2025, with Statcast giving him 59th percentile arm strength. However, Langford has no professional experience in right, while Nimmo has over 600 big league innings at that spot.
Turning to the other side of the trade, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also spoke to the media today, complimenting his new second baseman. “It’s notable that this is a player that can contribute to winning baseball in a variety of different ways,” Stearns said, per Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports, “and the bat may not actually lead the way at this point in his career. We think there’s likely some bounce back in his offensive profile and his offensive game. But what we’re counting on at the top of his skillset is the contributions he can make for us defensively, how he can perform on the bases, and we think those are going to help us win games.” Stearns has highlighted a desire to improve the Mets’ run prevention, so it’s understandable he would focus on Semien’s defense.
Naturally, Stearns was asked about what’s next for the Mets. While the story in Texas might be scaled-back spending, that doesn’t appear to be a concern with the Mets. “Sure,” Stearns said, when asked if it’s possible for the Mets to re-sign Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz and a notable free agent outfielder. “I think anything would be realistic right now.”
Under owner Steve Cohen, the Mets have been one of the top-spending clubs in the majors. Per RosterResource, they had a $340MM payroll and $337MM CBT number in 2025. For 2026, those numbers are at $263MM and $264MM. That gives the Mets something like $70MM in wiggle room if they are willing to get to the same level and it’s entirely possible they could be willing to go even higher.
MLBTR predicted Díaz to secure an $82MM deal over four years. He is reportedly setting his sights higher than that, targeting a deal in the same range as his last one, which was a $102MM guarantee over five years. Either way, a deal worth roughly $20MM annually is probably likely. MLBTR predicted Alonso for $110MM over four years, which would be $27.5MM in terms of average annual value.
Put together, those two would likely eat up something near $50MM of next year’s payroll. If the Mets do have $70MM of space right now, that would leave them another $20MM to spend on an outfielder, though they also presumably want to make additions to the rotation as well. The Mets have already been connected to Cody Bellinger and the Nimmo deal opens a corner, raising immediate speculation about a run at Kyle Tucker. MLBTR predicted Bellinger for $140MM over five years and Tucker for $400MM over 11 years, respective AAVs of $28MM and $36.36MM.
There are other moving pieces at play. With Semien now at second base, it’s possible Jeff McNeil‘s chances of getting traded have increased. He can play other positions, such as left or center field, but it’s possible the Mets would rather ship him out the way they did with Nimmo. Even before the Nimmo deal, McNeil’s name was in trade rumors. McNeil is owed $15.75MM next year, plus a $2MM buyout on a $15.75MM club option for 2027. There’s also a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded. Then there’s also Kodai Senga, who is owed $14MM annually over the next two years and has been in trade rumors as well.
If the Mets can find a taker for McNeil and/or Senga, they could free up some more money for their other pursuits, or perhaps address another area of need by taking back another veteran player, like they did by grabbing Semien. Stearns also mentioned today that McNeil could also play some first base, expanding his versatility, per Mike Puma of The New York Post. McNeil has played every position on the diamond outside the battery but has just three innings of first base experience. If Alonso isn’t coming back, McNeil could be part of the solution there, alongside guys like Mark Vientos. Though it’s also possible the Mets aren’t done shaking up their roster by trading out long-time mainstays.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Rangers Select Billy McKinney
The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Billy McKinney. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow outfielder Wyatt Langford, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Outfielder Sam Haggerty has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for McKinney.
Langford has been battling side tightness for a few days now. He didn’t play on Friday or Saturday, before returning to the lineup Sunday. He then departed yesterday’s game, again due to side tightness. The Rangers were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night, meaning there’s no longer any need to try to stay on the field. Langford will therefore spend the final few days of the season on the IL.
That gets McKinney back onto the Rangers’ roster. He spent a few days with the club in July, getting into two games and stepping to the plate eight times. He went 1-7 with a walk. He was then designated for assignment and elected free agency before re-signing with the club on a new minor league deal.
He has been playing decently in the minors but that’s nothing new for him. He has always performed well on the farm, which has gotten him plenty of big league chances that he hasn’t been able to capitalize on. He has spent time with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers, Athletics, Pirates and Rangers, getting in 323 big league games. In his 951 plate appearances, he has a .208/.283/.384 batting line, which translates to a 79 wRC+. He can be retained for 2026 via arbitration but is probably just up to cover for a few days and will likely be removed from the roster in some fashion in subsequent weeks.
As for Haggerty, he landed on the 10-day IL in mid-August due to left ankle inflammation. He started a rehab assignment over a week ago but only got into two games, so he has presumably hit some sort of snag. He’ll finish the season on the 60-day IL. Like McKinney, he can be retained for next year via arbitration but is a non-tender candidate.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
AL West Notes: Severino, Pena, Langford
The Athletics are playing all of their games for the next few years at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento while they wait for their stadium in Las Vegas to be constructed. It’s been expected from the very beginning that playing in a minor league stadium would be an adjustment for the players, and before the season began there were issues raised by the MLBPA that resulted in a brief scuffle over whether the park would have grass or synthetic turf. Even with concessions such as the use of grass, however, some players were bound to find the change jarring.
According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Luis Severino is one such player. Severino has performed much better on the road this year, with a 2.27 ERA in seven road starts as compared to a 6.79 ERA in ten starts at Sutter Health Park. When asked about the discrepancy, Severino was quick to attribute it to the fact that the team gets to play in a traditional MLB stadium when on the road.
“We don’t have that at home right now,” Severino said, as relayed by Kuty. “It’s not the same. It’s not the same atmosphere. We don’t have a lot of fans. Our clubhouse is in left field. So, when we play day games, we have to just be in the sun. There’s no air conditioning there, too. It’s really tough.”
The A’s are expected to remain at Sutter Health Park through the end of the 2027 season, so conditions aren’t likely to change in the short-term. Severino signed with the A’s for three years and $67MM over the winter, and while his deal comes with an opt-out clause after the second season he’s still locked into that contract through the end of the 2026 campaign.
Given Severino’s displeasure with his home ballpark and the Athletics’ lackluster 34-51 record, it’s easy to speculate about the possibility of a trade benefiting all parties. The righty was floated as a possible trade target for the Cubs earlier this week, but there’s plenty of reason to think the A’s might be reluctant to part with Severino considering the struggles they’ve had luring high-dollar free agents into the organization previously. While most clubs would expect to be able to replace a high-dollar veteran they part with in trade via free agency the following winter, it’s not hard to imagine the A’s ballpark situation making free agent pitchers reluctant to sign there.
More from the AL West…
- Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena was out of the lineup today after getting hit by a pitch in the ribs during yesterday’s game against the Cubs, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Athletic) that Pena came in today feeling better after being considered day-to-day yesterday. Espada added that Pena would receive treatment and do light baseball activities but be held out of tonight’s game. That creates reason for optimism he could be back in the lineup for the series finale on Sunday, which would be a huge boost given that Pena has put himself into the MVP conversation with a blistering first half. Mauricio Dubon has filled in at shortstop in Pena’s absence.
- Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford was placed on the injured list due to an oblique strain yesterday, but MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry writes that both Langford himself and Rangers brass have suggested the issue isn’t a serious one. President of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters that the team having two upcoming days off on the schedule played a role in the decision to send Langford for what the club expects to be a minimum IL stint, and added that the injury was “right on the cusp” of being something they’d just rest Langford on the bench for a few days for. Langford has struggled to a lackluster .224/.286/.342 in June this year, so perhaps a ten-day reset could benefit the 23-year-old in more ways than one. Alejandro Osuna has joined Evan Carter and Adolis Garcia in the regular outfield mix while Langford is out of commission.
Rangers Place Wyatt Langford On Injured List
The Rangers announced Wednesday that outfielder Wyatt Langford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Additionally, infielder Jonathan Ornelas has been optioned to Round Rock. Utilityman Ezequiel Duran and outfielder Dustin Harris have been recalled in a pair of corresponding transactions. Duran was only optioned to Triple-A yesterday, but he can return in fewer than the minimum 10 days since he’s technically replacing the injured Langford on the roster.
The 23-year-old Langford is out to a fast start, clubbing four homers through his first dozen games while slashing .244/.333/.561 overall. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick’s bid to follow up on a strong rookie showing last year will be placed on hold for the next week-plus at the very least, however, with a chance that he’ll require a lengthier stay.
Every injury is different, but even many Grade 1 oblique strains (the most mild on a scale of one to three) can sideline a player for upwards of a month. Texas will hope Langford’s current oblique strain plays out similarly to the one he sustained on the other side of his body early in camp this year, when a mild left oblique strain required him to be out of games for only about two weeks.
With Langford shelved for the time being, his reps in left field will fall to a combination of Harris, Duran, Kevin Pillar and Josh Smith. Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia remain on hand to man center field and right field, respectively.
Harris, 25, could get his first stretch of any real action in the majors following this promotion. He was briefly called up last year but only appeared in two games, going 2-for-6 with a homer. He has a decent track record at the plate in the upper minors but is widely considered a sub-par defender with no true home on the diamond.
The Rangers have given Harris a look at all three outfield spots this season, and he’s also spent ample time at every infield position other than shortstop. He’s a lefty hitter who could work his way into Bruce Bochy’s lineup at a variety of positions, but he’s generally blocked from any sort of long-term regular role in Texas. Jake Burger, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung have the infield locked down, while Langford, Taveras, Garcia and Evan Carter give him plenty of roadblocks in the outfield. Harris is out to a tough start in Triple-A this year but is a career .268/.361/.401 hitter in 894 plate appearances there (in addition to a .252/.358/.445 line in 660 Double-A plate appearances).
Rangers Notes: Rocker, Eovaldi, Langford
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.
The Rangers’ Surprising Problem
Each week at MLBTR, it seems we're covering a development that further tanks the Astros' chances of competing for a playoff spot. We've devoted less attention to their in-state rivals, but the Rangers are in no better a situation. Texas and Houston have identical 33-40 records after the Rangers' five-game losing streak. They're only four games clear of the Angels for fourth place in the AL West.
Texas starting the season slowly isn't a huge surprise in itself (even if the extent of their struggles is). The eye-opener is in the way the team has underperformed. The Rangers opened the season without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle. They were largely trying to stay afloat for the first couple months before welcoming that trio of starters back throughout the summer. The early-season rotation was the big question -- the main reason the Rangers might find themselves closer to the bottom of the AL West than the top more than halfway into June.
Starting pitching has not been the problem. Texas is middle-of-the-pack in that regard, solid work from a staff without three of its most talented arms. The collapse has been on the other side of the ball. The Ranger offense hasn't performed. An outfield that looked like one of the game's most talented groups has been a disaster. It's not the easiest problem for GM Chris Young to address at the deadline -- if the Rangers find themselves in position to add at all next month.
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