The Texas Rangers are fighting to remain in contention for an AL Wild Card spot and may soon receive a significant boost, as several injured key players are on the road to recovery.
At present, four Rangers players are on the injured list—three pitchers and one power hitter. Speaking with the media, manager Bruce Bochy shared updates on each of them.
Veteran righty Jon Gray appears to be the closest to making his return to action, where he could be a potential contributor on the backend of this rotation. He is set to make his next rehab start on Sunday.
Jon Gray has yet to appear in a game this season after fracturing his right wrist during spring training.
In his first rehab outing, he pitched two innings, allowed just one hit—a solo home run—struck out one batter, and gave up no walks.
Over his three seasons with the Rangers, the 33-year-old has recorded a 4.16 ERA, a 1.244 WHIP, and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are also looking forward to the return of breakout pitcher Tyler Mahle, who is expected to begin throwing again in about a week.
Mahle has been dealing with a shoulder issue that has kept him sidelined since the second week of June. This was a massive loss for the starting rotation as he has been light out so far this season.
Through 14 starts, Mahle has a 2.34 ERA with a 1.130 WHIP and 6.5 K/9. It hasn’t been overwhelming stuff from him this year, but he hits his locations and doesn’t get hit hard.
The last pitcher to receive an injury update was reliever Josh Sborz, who also has yet to debut this season. He still seems to be a ways away, but Bochy did say that his next steps are being discussed.
Sborz had his 2024 cut short with a rotator cuff strain that ended up needing shoulder injury.
He was on track for his best year in a while, posting a 3.86 ERA with a 1.224 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 over 16.1 innings of work.
The final injury update came for designated hitter Joc Pederson, who has had an abysmal start to his time in a Rangers uniform. He will begin batting practice in about two to three weeks.
Hopefully, the time away will act as a bit of a reset for Pederson. The 33-year-old has posted just a .131/.269/.238 slash line with two home runs over his first 46 games this season.
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