Rangers Face Next Critical Roster Move After Brandon Nimmo Injury

Two days after placing Wyatt Langford on the injured list count, the Texas Rangers may face the same decision with right fielder Brandon Nimmo.

After Monday's 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) reported that Nimmo’s MRI revealed that he had a sprained A/C joint in his left shoulder.

The injury happened when Nimmo ran into the right field wall on Sunday at Rogers Centre as he caught the final out of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not play on Monday and Grant reported that Nimmo will undergo more testing on Tuesday. It’s not clear if there is an injured list trip coming for him. But if he does go on the IL, it will be his first trip there with the Rangers.

Impact of Potential Brandon Nimmo Injury

Brandon Nimmo goes ALL OUT to secure the final out of a 4-game sweep for the @Rangers! pic.twitter.com/sN8LghZGIS
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2026

The Rangers moved Langford to the injured list on Sunday with a left hamstring strain. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has already set the expectation at Langford will not return to the field until at least after the All-Star break.

The Rangers called up Evan Carter from his rehab assignment to join the team on Sunday, and he has started the last two games. Texas also selected the contract of Cameron Cauley, a prospect who can play both infield and outfield. That move was expected to simply give the Rangers depth. If Nimmo must go on the injured list, then the Rangers will have to shuffle the chairs in the outfield once again.

After Langford went on the IL, it left the Rangers with four outfielders. Cauley can play center field and Ezequiel Duran — who played right field for Nimmo on Monday — can also play outfield. But the Rangers designated Jarred Kelenic for assignment on Monday, removing some Major League depth from the roster. If Nimmo must go on the IL, it leaves the Rangers with just Carter and Alejandro Osuna as outfield-specific players.

The Rangers’ minor league affiliates were dark on Monday so it’s not clear if Texas has already called up a player to the taxi squad. If the Rangers needed to IL Nimmo, they would probably look to Triple-A Round Rock for help. Josh Smith can play infield and outfield and was optioned back to Round Rock after he came off the injured list earlier this month.

The rest of the infielders and outfielders at Round Rock would all require a 40-man roster move. The Rangers do have a 40-man spot open after their transactions on Monday, so they could promote a player like Trevor Hauver or Aaron Zavala.

Nimmo has been an everyday player for the Rangers since he arrived in a trade for Marcus Simien last offseason. He was slashing .262/.333/.420 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in 82 games.

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