Rangers Officially Set 26-Man Opening Day Roster, Make injured List Moves

The Texas Rangers couldn't wait till pregame on Thursday to set their opening day roster because the season starts one day before the Rangers take on the Philadelphia Phillies.

When Major League Baseball moved the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees opening day game from Thursday to Wednesday, it created an early deadline for all 30 teams to have their opening day rosters set. Before first pitch on Wednesday night, the Rangers had to have their roster done.

The good news is the Rangers were basically done with their roster by the time they left for Philadelphia. Texas unveiled its official 26-man roster for opening day on Wednesday, and it yielded few surprises.

Texas Rangers 26-Man Roster

Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger follows through on a swing. — Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

Here is the Rangers’ 26-man roster for opening day:

Pitchers (13): Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, MacKenzie Gore, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Jacob Latz, Robert Garcia, Tyler Alexander, Jakob Junis, Chris Martin, Jacob Latz, Cole Winn, Jalen Beeks, Carter Baumler.

Catchers (2): Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen.

Infielders (3): Jake Burger, Josh Smith, Corey Seager, Josh Jung.

Outfielders (3): Brandon Nimmo, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter

Designated Hitter (1): Joc Pederson

Bench/Utility (3): Andrew McCutchen, Sam Haggerty, Ezequiel Duran.

The Rangers also had to make injury list moves, one of which they made earlier in camp when they transferred pitcher Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. Montgomery, who helped the Rangers then the 2023 World Series, is recovering from Tommy John surgery and likely won't be available until the second half of the season.

The Rangers also transferred left-handed pitcher Cody Bradford to the 60-day injured list. He is also recovering from elbow surgery, but he's expected to be ready earlier than Montgomery. Bradford could be available to pitch for Texas in late May for early June.

Texas also officially moved infielder Cody Freeman to the 15-day injured list. Early in camp he suffered a lower back stress fracture and has been out of action for the past several weeks. He had a four-to-six-week timetable to begin baseball activities, and he should be resuming his ramp up for the regular season in the next week or two based on that timeline.

Other Rangers transactions made on Wednesday included:

After opening day, the Rangers played two more games with the Phillies before moving on to a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. Texas returns home for its opener at Globe Life Field on April 3 against the Cincinnati Reds.