Wyatt Langford to the Injured List for the Second Time
Texas Rangers center fielder Wyatt Langford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain, marking the second time this has happened this season. Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, reported that Langford’s strain is of “very low grade.” The outfielder, in his second year, hasn’t played since Tuesday in Baltimore.The Rangers also activated right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi from the 15-day injured list to start Friday night, just a month after his last game before going on the list for elbow inflammation. Right-handed reliever Dane Dunning was sent back to Triple-A Round Rock. Michael Helman, middle infielder-outfielder claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh last month, was promoted from Triple-A to take Langford’s spot on the roster. Young indicated that Langford’s issue was “right on the limit” of whether he needed to go on the injured list. However, the move was pushed back to Wednesday, and combined with the Rangers’ off days on consecutive Thursdays, Langford will only miss eight games if his stay on the list is minimal as expected. He could return on July 5 in San Diego. Langford missed nine games in mid-April while on the injured list for a right oblique strain, while the current issue is on the left side. He is batting .232 with 13 home runs (team-leading) and 31 RBIs.We feel it’s the right thing to do. With two days off, it shortens the amount of games missed. We simply want to solve this from the beginning.
Chris Young, President of Baseball Operations
Cody Bradford Undergoes Surgery
The left-handed pitcher Cody Bradford returned to the clubhouse with his teammates and attended the pre-game pitchers’ meeting on Friday, two days after his season-ending elbow surgery. Young stated that Bradford’s surgery was successful and that the team doctor, Dr. Keith Meister, performed an internal bracing procedure instead of a more extensive procedure. The pitcher will be out for at least 10-12 months, a shorter period than if he had needed Tommy John surgery. Bradford was expected to be part of the starting rotation this season, but was ruled out during spring training in mid-March due to elbow pain. His rehabilitation was going well until Bradford felt something in his elbow upon resuming throwing after a recent flu virus. Bradford, 27, has a 10-6 record with a 4.28 ERA in 34 games (21 starts) for Texas over the last two seasons. As a rookie, Bradford went 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in five relief appearances during the 2023 playoffs, when the Rangers won their first World Series title. He pitched a scoreless inning in both World Series appearances.The optimistic reinforcement procedure would mean a shorter time to return to competition. Considering everything, everything went well. It was the best of the results we could have anticipated.
Chris Young, President of Baseball Operations
