Rangers, Jalen Beeks Agree To Major League Deal
The Rangers are in agreement with lefty reliever Jalen Beeks on a major league contract, reports Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. The signing is pending a physical. Texas will need to create a 40-man roster spot once the deal is final. Beeks is represented by Frontline.
Beeks finds a guaranteed contract just two weeks from the beginning of the regular season. The southpaw spent the 2025 campaign with the Diamondbacks on a $1.25MM contract. He made 61 appearances, working to a 3.77 earned run average across 57 1/3 innings. There’s a decent chance he would have been traded at the deadline if not for a three-week injured list stint in July due to lower back inflammation.
The 32-year-old wound up finishing the season as one of the rare veteran pieces in Arizona’s bullpen. He allowed only four runs across his final 16 1/3 innings. Beeks’ underlying marks were middle of the road. He had a slightly below-average 20.3% strikeout rate with decent but unexceptional walk and ground-ball marks.
Unlike a lot of lefty relievers, Beeks doesn’t have a great breaking ball. He only used his cutter around 10% of the time last year. Beeks works mostly with a 94-95 mph fastball and an upper 80s changeup that serves as his best swing-and-miss pitch. He doesn’t have extreme platoon splits as a result. Beeks allowed similar slash lines to left-handed (.218/.266/.345) and righty (.190/.285/.339) bats alike last year, though his strikeout rate was quite a bit higher when he had the platoon advantage.
Beeks will have a couple weeks to get ready for the start of the regular season. It’ll be a patched together Texas bullpen for a second straight year. Robert Garcia is their one high-leverage lefty. There’s a decent chance he get some save opportunities. Tyler Alexander will pitch in a long relief role. Beeks isn’t a pure specialist but can take some left on left matchups in the middle innings.
Garcia, Chris Martin, Cole Winn, Jakob Junis, Beeks and Alexander all seem assured of Opening Day bullpen spots. Former Reds closer Alexis Díaz signed a one-year deal, but he’s been bombed for eight runs in 1 2/3 innings this spring. He still has a couple options remaining and is probably headed to Triple-A.
Rule 5 draftee Carter Baumler needs to stick on the MLB team or be waived and offered back to the Orioles. He has only surrendered one unearned run with a 4-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 5 2/3 frames. Minor league signees Ryan Brasier and Josh Sborz are also in camp. Sborz has had the much more impressive spring.
As Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports observes, this may also tip the team’s hand on their rotation plans. Left-hander Jacob Latz will be on the big league roster in some capacity. Latz pitched mostly in relief last year but is competing with Kumar Rocker for the fifth starter job. Rocker has the higher pedigree, but Latz was the better pitcher in 2025. There hasn’t been a huge divide between the two this spring.
If the Rangers keep Rocker as the fifth starter, they’d have four left-handers in their projected Opening Day bullpen. Most teams prefer to carry two or three lefty relievers. That could point to Latz having the upper hand in the rotation competition and Rocker beginning the season in Triple-A.
Image courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images.
MLBTR Podcast: Jesús Luzardo’s Extension, Atlanta’s Depth, And Zack Littell
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Phillies and Jesús Luzardo signing an extension (1:55)
- Johan Rojas reportedly testing positive for a PED and how that impacts the Phillies (16:55)
- The Braves losing Jurickson Profar to yet another PED suspension and Joey Wentz to a season-ending injury (22:15)
- The Nationals signing Zack Littell (36:25)
- The Pirates trading Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for Tyler Callihan (43:40)
- The Rangers signing Andrew McCutchen to a minor league deal (48:45)
- The Astros dealing with a Jeremy Peña injury and how that impacts the ongoing Isaac Paredes trade rumors (53:30)
Check out our past episodes!
- Max Scherzer, The Red Sox’ Lineup, Spring Extension Candidates, And More! – listen here
- Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension – listen here
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Rangers Claim Dairon Blanco
The Rangers have claimed outfielder Dairon Blanco off waivers from the Royals, according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Blanco was designated for assignment by the Royals last week to make room for Starling Marte on the club’s 40-man. The Rangers transferred southpaw Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day injured list to make room for Blanco on their own 40-man.
Blanco, 33 next month, played in the Cuban National Series through his age-22 season but didn’t make it to stateside ball until he was 25 years old back in 2018. Then a member of the Athletics, he was traded to the Royals the following year and eventually made his big league debut during the 2022 season with a five game cup of coffee. The following year he got a much larger role with Kansas City, however, and over the next two seasons he slashed a solid .258/.316/.422 in 270 plate appearances across 157 games. That’s slightly above league average production at the plate, though the vast majority of his production comes against left-handed pitching. Blanco sports a 137 wRC+ for his career against southpaws, compared to a 70 wRC+ against right-handers. It’s also worth noting that he gets a lot of value from his work on the base paths, where he went 55-for-67 (82.1%) in stolen base attempts in 2023 and ’24.
That makes Blanco a useful bench or depth option to be sure, but he ultimately found himself squeezed off the Royals’ roster after the team brought in Marte and Isaac Collins during the offseason to shore up an outfield mix that had rated out as among the worst in the majors in recent years. The Royals already had a crowded bench mix, and Blanco has yet to prove he’s capable of handling more than part-time duties at the big league level. That’s unlikely to be as much of a problem with the Rangers, who are relatively thin on outfield depth (especially when looking for players who can play center field capably) and have plenty of lefties in the lineup like Evan Carter, Joc Pederson, and Josh Smith who could benefit from being spelled against fellow southpaws.
Of course, that isn’t to say Blanco is guaranteed a spot on the team’s bench entering the season. He’ll have stiff competition from veteran Andrew McCutchen for a spot as a right-handed bat, while Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman, and Ezequiel Duran all offer more versatility than Blanco. With that being said, Blanco does have options remaining and could simply start the season in the minor leagues before waiting to get an opportunity in the majors at some point this year. At the very least, Blanco’s wheels should give him a strong argument to join the team when rosters expand in September and perhaps into the postseason if Texas manages to make it that far.
Rangers Sign Andrew McCutchen To Minor League Deal
March 6: McCutchen passed his physical, and the Rangers have formally announced his signing.
March 5: The Rangers are bringing veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen aboard on a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Aegis Sports client’s base salary would be $1.25MM if he makes the team, per Grant. It can max out around $2.5MM if he makes the roster and hits his full slate of incentives, per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports.
McCutchen, 39, is years removed from peak form but still turned in a .239/.333/.367 slash (95 wRC+) last year in what now looks like his final season with the Pirates. His .267/.353/.389 output against left-handed pitching was a bit above average, and he knocked lefties around at a heftier .261/.383/.410 clip as recently as 2023.
For the past three years, McCutchen has suited back up for his original club in Pittsburgh, where he was a first-round pick who broke out as a star and eventually won National League MVP honors. The hope for both McCutchen and the Pirates was that he’d return to play out his final seasons where it all began, leading a more competitive Bucs club back to the playoffs in the twilight of his career.
That storybook ending never came to be. Pittsburgh struggled in each of the past three seasons, finishing under .500 each year along the way. The Bucs fired manager Derek Shelton last May and took a more urgent and aggressive approach to building up their offense this winter. Pittsburgh acquired Brandon Lowe via trade and signed free agents Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna. They had even bigger targets throughout the winter (e.g. Kyle Schwarber, Josh Naylor, Kazuma Okamoto, Eugenio Suárez). All those pursuits cast doubt on whether there was room for one more go-around with McCutchen on what’d have been a more nostalgic/sentimental reunion. Last month’s signing of Ozuna all but confirmed that the book on the three-year reunion with McCutchen had been closed.
McCutchen now heads to the Rangers in hopes of grabbing a bench spot. His right-handed bat makes for a natural platoon complement alongside designated hitter Joc Pederson. Cutch could also see some time in the outfield corners when Texas faces off against left-handed starters, with Wyatt Langford shifting over to center field in place of lefty-swinging Evan Carter, who has just five hits in 68 career plate appearances against southpaws.
There’s little sense citing McCutchen’s career .289/.387/.514 slash against lefties, since so much of that is influenced by otherworldly production during his MVP peak. However, even over the three seasons in his late-career return to PNC Park, McCutchen hit .244/.353/.392 in 435 plate appearances. That sort of production is more solid than eye-catching, but it’d still mark an upgrade over the awful .225/.290/.363 batting line the Rangers turned in versus left-handed pitching in 2025.
Rangers Notes: Jung, Foscue, Church
A pair of injuries have hit the Rangers’ infield mix, as both third baseman Josh Jung and former top prospect Justin Foscue will be out of action for at least the next 10 days. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry) that an MRI revealed that Jung has a Grade 1 adductor strain, while Foscue has a right hamstring strain.
Neither injury is thought to be particularly serious, and Schumaker felt Jung in particular was going to be back on the field earlier than expected. In Foscue’s case, while his hamstring isn’t a major concern from a health perspective, the missed time is a setback in Foscue’s bid to win a spot on the Opening Day roster.
“It doesn’t change anything as far as [Foscue’s] chances,” Schumaker said. “He’s just gonna lose at-bats, which sucks for him. But…he’ll still have two weeks left of camp, really, to try to build up. He should get more at-bats.”
Jung is penciled in as the Rangers’ top choice at third base, and the former eighth overall pick is still looking to firmly establish himself as he enters his fifth Major League season. After making the All-Star team and helping Texas win the World Series in his 2023 rookie season, Jung was limited to 46 games due to a right wrist fracture in 2024. He was healthy last year, but struggled to a .251/.294/.390 slash line and 91 wRC+ over 511 plate appearances and was briefly demoted to Triple-A in July.
Now that Jung has become eligible for salary arbitration, the clock may be ticking to some extent on his future in Texas. He is earning a modest $2.9MM salary in 2026, but if Jung doesn’t take a notable step forward at the plate, he could be a non-tender candidate next offseason if the Rangers decide against giving him more chances at a higher price tag. Schumaker did praise Jung’s development in camp, and felt the third baseman’s work was “about to translate on the field.”
Foscue has only three hits over 53 PA at the big league level, translating to a .192 OPS for his brief MLB career. While a small sample size, the rather extreme nature of these struggles has already raised doubts about whether or not Foscue (also a former first-round draft pick, selected 14th overall in 2020) can eventually even hold his own against Major League pitching.
There have also been questions about Foscue’s ability to stick at second base, and the Rangers have been experimenting with Foscue as an outfielder this spring in an effort to increase his versatility. Being able to handle a corner outfield spot as well as first or second base would help Foscue’s chances of sticking on the 26-man roster, but everything will be on hold until he is healed up from his hamstring strain.
In other injury news from the Texas camp, Marc Church has been sidelined due to a teres major strain, but the right-hander is slated to throw a pair of live bullpen sessions this week, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News writes. Assuming his throwing progression goes as planned, Church should probably get in some game action before Spring Training is over, and he might still have a chance to break camp as a member of the Rangers’ pen.
The teres major strain is another unwelcome setback for Church, as he has been limited to just 38 2/3 total innings (33 in the minors, 5 2/3 in the majors) over the 2024-25 seasons. He missed a big chunk of the 2024 minor league season due to a rotator cuff injury, and he dealt with elbow inflammation, lat problems, and an oblique strain in 2025. If he can finally get healthy, Church is an intriguing candidate for a relief role, as he has a plus slider and splitter to go along with a fastball in the mid-to-high 90s.
Narrowing Down The Closer Options In Texas
The Rangers and White Sox were the only teams in the league last season that failed to have a reliever record double-digit saves. Jhoan Duran and David Bednar each did it with two different teams. The 43-win Rockies had multiple pitchers lock down 10+ games.
Texas finished the year tied for 22nd in saves with the Nationals, who also had two relievers reach the double-digit threshold. Luke Jackson, Shawn Armstrong, and Robert Garcia had a three-way tie for the Rangers team lead at nine saves. Phil Maton chipped in three, while Chris Martin had two.
Jackson, Armstrong, and Maton have moved on to other organizations. Martin is back with the club, embarking on his age-40 season. Garcia remains a key piece of the late-inning equation, though the club is sorely lacking in high-leverage lefties. Here’s a quick look at how the closer role could shake out in Texas…
Robert Garcia
The case against Garcia has nothing to do with his skills. He posted a sub-3.00 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning in his first year with the club. Garcia notched 15 holds in addition to his nine saves. The Rangers’ acquisition of Garcia from the Nationals for Nathaniel Lowe, who landed in Cincinnati on a minor league deal this offseason, seems like a clear win.
The problem for Garcia is the lack of other lefties in the ‘pen. Tyler Alexander is the only healthy left-hander on the 40-man roster who will definitely be filling a relief role. He comes to Texas after four straight seasons with a 4.50 ERA or worse. Jacob Latz is a candidate for the rotation. If he comes up short for the No. 5 spot, he’ll likely be in a flexible multi-inning role.
Garcia is the lone holdover from the 2025 closer trio, but he had that role under former manager Bruce Bochy. Skip Schumaker is at the helm now. The new skipper had a lefty closer in Tanner Scott during his two seasons with the Marlins, but those teams also had A.J. Puk, Andrew Nardi, and Steven Okert as left-handed options.
Chris Martin
The veteran right-hander’s career has seemed over multiple times recently. He said at the close of the 2024 campaign that he was 95% sure that 2025 would be it for him. Then this past season included three different injuries, punctuated by a chilling diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome. And yet, Martin is back with the Rangers on a one-year deal.
The soon-to-be 40-year-old has been a solid reliever for much of his career, but it’s hard to know how many innings he can handle at this point. It’s also difficult to gauge how the Rangers will treat him. It was pedal to the metal to begin 2025, as Martin pitched in all three games of the first series against Boston. It’d be surprising to see him used anywhere near that frequently this year.
This is by far the most intriguing name on the list, given his past run as a solid closer and his more recent history as a struggling minor-league reliever. Diaz dominated in his 2022 debut with the Reds, firing 63 2/3 innings of a 1.84 ERA and a 32.5% strikeout rate. He picked up 10 saves as a rookie. He would go on to rack up 65 saves over the next two seasons.
Diaz missed the start of last season with a hamstring strain. He was crushed for eight earned runs over six innings once he returned, and found himself back in Triple-A. Cincinnati would deal him to the Dodgers at the end of May. Diaz continued to scuffle in L.A. and was even worse after latching on with the Braves to close the year. If he can find a way to regain a couple of ticks on his fastball, Diaz could push for high-leverage opportunities.
It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for the 2018 first-round pick, but the converted starter was a significant contributor in the bullpen last season. The majority of Winn’s work came in the middle innings, but he did pick up four holds. The right-hander posted a pristine 1.51 ERA. He deserves some credit for that mark, though the underlying numbers point to regression. Winn had a .194 BABIP and a 90.5% LOB%. His xERA and xFIP were both over 4.00.
While he probably won’t put up a sub-2.00 ERA again, Winn does have the stuff of a high-leverage arm. He sits above 96 mph with the four-seamer, while boasting a pair of strong swing-and-miss pitches. Winn’s slider had a 34% whiff rate, and his splitter had a hefty 43.3% mark. It’s odd to see a short reliever throw five different pitches at least 12% of the time, but the arsenal is viable.
Carter Baumler (honorable mention)
The Rule 5 pick has been turning heads in camp. Baumler has an upper-90s heater with a hard slider and a big curveball. Schumaker described the arsenal as “stuff that we don’t really have in the mix of the potential bullpen construction,” relayed by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Baumler has never made it above Double-A, so it’s hard to imagine him stepping into a late-inning role. His first goal will be just making the team. Baumler is well on his way to earning a roster spot with three strikeouts across two scoreless innings in Spring Training.
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images
Rangers Top Prospect Sebastian Walcott Undergoes Internal Brace Procedure
Feb. 24: Walcott underwent an internal brace procedure and not a full UCL reconstruction (Tommy John surgery), MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry reports. That’s relatively good news, in that it’s possible he could be cleared to start hitting before the end the season. He’s looking at a timetable of five to six months, Landry adds.
Feb. 12: Rangers top prospect Sebastian Walcott, one of the most touted prospects in the entire sport, could miss the entire 2026 season due to an elbow injury that will require surgery, president of baseball operations Chris Young announced to the team’s beat this morning (link via Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports). Walcott could potentially get at-bats late in the season, and if he’s healthy, he’ll be a prime candidate to make up some lost reps in the Arizona Fall League and/or in winter ball. Young added that righty Nabil Crismatt, who’s in camp as a non-roster invitee, is also headed for elbow surgery (via Wilson).
Walcott appeared in last year’s Arizona Fall League, but his time there was cut short by elbow inflammation. Surgery was not recommended at the time. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Walcott spent the offseason rehabbing and felt strong entering camp, but he recently experienced renewed discomfort when throwing.
A consultation with renowned surgeon Dr. Keith Meister revealed “structural changes.” Walcott will have surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, it seems, but it has not yet been determined whether he’ll require a full Tommy John procedure (i.e. ligament reconstruction) or an internal brace procedure to repair/strengthen the existing ligament. The latter comes with a shorter timetable for recovery.
It’s a brutal blow to the Rangers and their farm. Walcott is only 19 years old (20 next month) but already appeared on the cusp of MLB readiness. The Bahamian-born shortstop spent the 2025 campaign in Double-A and hit .255/.355/.386 (110 wRC+) despite being the youngest player in the league.
In 552 plate appearances, Walcott hit 13 home runs, 19 doubles and two triples. He also went 32-for-42 in stolen base attempts, walked at a huge 12.7% clip and only struck out in 19.6% of his plate appearances. That’d be a productive season even for a more physically developed 23- or 24-year-old, but Walcott enjoyed that success in spite of being five years younger than the average Texas League player.
Virtually every prospect list one can find will include Walcott within its top 20. He’s currently No. 16 at Baseball America, 16th on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic, seventh at MLB.com, and all the way up to fifth on Kiley McDaniel’s list at ESPN. Scouting reports laud him for possessing enormous, plus-plus raw power with good plate discipline, a feel to hit, plus speed and a plus arm. There’s some concern that he’ll outgrow shortstop — he’s already listed at 6’4″ and 190 pounds before turning 20 — but he has plenty of bat to stick at third base or in the outfield if such a shift is eventually needed.
It’s plausible that a healthy Walcott, with a big enough start to his season, could have emerged as an option in the majors for Texas. He’s not going to displace Corey Seager at shortstop, but third base, second base and (to a lesser extent) the outfield are all less settled in Arlington. All of that will be put on hold for the time being now, and Walcott’s debut will surely be pushed back into at least the 2027 season, as he’ll need to ease back into things as he rehabs from this health setback.
On the plus side, Walcott’s meteoric rise through the system means that youth is still very much on his side. He could miss the entire 2026 season, play well in the AFL and winter ball, open next season back at Double-A and still push to make his MLB debut during his age-21 season. The injury is a clear development setback, but for a player who has accomplished so much at such a young age, the outlook remains quite bright.
As for Crismatt, the upcoming elbow procedure scuttles any hope of cracking the big league roster. It’s not yet clear what type of procedure he’ll require. He’d been slated to pitch for his native Colombia in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans are obviously dashed as well.
The 31-year-old Crismatt spent part of the 2024 season with the Rangers’ Triple-A club and returned on a minor league deal this winter. He pitched in the majors with the D-backs last year and recorded a 3.71 ERA, 16.3% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate in 34 innings. Crismatt has suited up for four clubs across parts of six MLB seasons and carries a lifetime 3.71 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in 211 innings — most of them coming in relief.
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: Foscue, Helman, Santos, Nimmo
Spring Training is the time for players to experiment at new positions, particularly when said players are fighting for spots on a 26-man roster. The Rangers’ camp is no exception, as manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that career infielder Justin Foscue will get some work as an outfielder.
Foscue has mostly been a designated hitter over his 19 career big league games, with a couple of appearances at first and second base. The bulk of his time over five seasons in Texas’ farm system has come at second base, with a good chunk of time at both corner infield slots, and exactly zero appearances as an outfielder.
As outlined by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Foscue isn’t being viewed as a full-time candidate for a position change, but the Rangers want to be able to use Foscue in a corner outfield slot if necessary. The starting outfield alignment of Brandon Nimmo, Evan Carter, and Wyatt Langford is set, but the right-handed hitting Foscue could spell the lefty-swinging Nimmo in right field, or other lefty bats like Josh Smith at second base or Joc Pederson at DH.
“If I do what I’m supposed to do offensively, it should take care of itself, regardless [of position],” Foscue told Grant. “But having the ability to play outfield gives me some versatility with whatever matchups they want to throw out there, and it makes my game better. So I’m obviously open to that.”
The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Foscue has posted impressive numbers (.266/.379/.471 with 46 home runs) over 1235 Triple-A plate appearances, but he hasn’t yet shown anything during his brief time in the majors. Foscue has only three hits over 53 PA in the Show, translating to a pitcher-like .059/.094/.098 slash line. More consistent playing time could help Foscue find a groove, but by the same token, it is hard for the Rangers to justify giving chances to a player who has thus far looked totally overmatched against Major League pitching.
Foscue, Michael Helman, Ezequiel Duran, Sam Haggerty, and minor league signings such as Mark Canha, Tyler Wade, Nick Pratto, and Jonah Bride are among the candidates competing for jobs on the Rangers’ bench. Cody Freeman was part of this mix before being sidelined for 4-6 weeks by a lower back fracture. Helman is also dealing with an injury of an apparently much less serious nature, as Schumaker told McFarland and company that Helman was scratched from today’s game due to soreness in his hip and groin area.
In other injury news from the Texas camp, right-handed pitching prospect Winston Santos will miss roughly four weeks after sustaining a fracture in his left hand. MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry was among those to report the news that Santos suffered the injury during a live batting practice session, when Santos’ non-throwing hand was struck by a Kyle Higashioka comebacker.
Santos (who turns 24 in April) is no stranger to injuries, as back problems limited him to 17 1/3 total innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. His 6.75 ERA in this small sample can probably be attributed to his bad back and an incredibly unlucky .528 BABIP, as Santos still had impressive secondary metrics like a 33.3% strikeout rate and a nine percent walk rate.
MLB Pipeline ranks Santos as the third-best prospect in the Rangers’ farm system, with Baseball America ranking him seventh (behind infielder Sebastian Walcott and five other right-handed pitchers). The two outlets are split as to whether Santos’ changeup or slider is his second-best offering, but his 97mph fastball with a ton of break is seen as a plus pitch. There’s a decent chance Santos will make his Major League debut at some point in 2026 as at least a bullpen arm, though missing a big chunk of Spring Training is an unfortunate setback for the young righty.
On the flip side of the injury coin, Nimmo’s first spring in a Rangers uniform has allowed the team to get its first look at Nimmo’s purposely limited Spring Training regimen. Evan Grant details how Nimmo played in only 37 total spring games with the Mets from 2022-25, as the outfielder has focused more on workouts and live at-bats in controlled situations (like live BP sessions) rather than in-game action.
The change may have contributed to Nimmo’s increased durability. Plagued by injuries in the early portion of his Mets career, Nimmo went from player who had trouble staying on the field to a veritable workhorse, as he has played in 609 of a possible 648 regular-season games over the last four seasons. While Nimmo hasn’t been entirely healthy during this time, the results speak for themselves, as Nimmo has hit .259/.346/.434 with 88 homers over 2670 PA since Opening Day 2022. He’ll look to continue that production in his first season in Texas after being dealt for Marcus Semien in a one-for-one swap back in November.
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