Texas Rangers Receive Brutal Injury News for Top Pitching Prospect

The Texas Rangers entered spring training with high hopes, but one of their top prospects just received some brutal injury news.

Jul 26, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Texas Rangers fielder Leody Taveras (3) during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have hit the ground running in spring training, but it comes with some bad news.

Per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, Alejandro Rosario has an injury to his elbow that requires surgery and he will miss the entirety of the 2025 season.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young did not officially call it an UCL injury, but he said that Rosario would most likely be getting Tommy John surgery.

The 23-year-old is Texas' No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline and he enjoyed a fantastic first year of pro ball. He made 18 appearances (17 starts) across two levels and had an ERA of 2.24. Additionally, the right-hander threw 88.1 innings, allowed a .207 oBA, had a 13.14 K/9, a 1.32 BB/9 and he gave up just two home runs.

Rosario was still at least a year out from making his MLB debut, but the talent and potential is there. He can reach triple digits with his fastball while his off-speed generates a lot of swing and miss. With that, the University of Miami product pounds the zone as well as anybody in the minor leagues. Scouts had him projected as a middle of the rotation starter in the bigs.

The Rangers will not miss Rosario at the MLB level this season as they have a full rotation.

Jacob deGrom is healthy and should return to his natural form in 2025. Joining deGrom is Nathan Eovaldi, the team's second-best pitcher. He made himself better by adding a new pitch in the offseason.

As for the younger pitchers, Rosario was waiting behind Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. Rocker is a pitcher to watch as he battles for a spot in the rotation while Leiter is receiving a lot of praise from his manager on his ability to be a Major League starter.

The injury news is still tough, though.

The former fifth-round pick was most likely going to begin the year in Double-A. If he were to pitch well at that level, it is reasonable to believe he could make the jump to Triple-A by the end of the season. With the surgery, all of that development and promotion is pushed back at least one season.

The news is still fresh, so the Rangers do not necessarily know all the details just yet. They are expecting it to require the Tommy John, but the extent of the tear in the ligament is still unknown. For now, the team is preparing for him to be miss all of 2025.