Rangers Monitoring Status of Outfielder After Precautionary X-Rays

The Texas Rangers don’t need another position player on the injured list and they’re hoping to avoid that this weekend.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The focus for 2026 was to ensure that the Texas Rangers would have one of their young, but oft-injured, outfielders available for every game.  

Evan Carter and the Rangers nearly got to the end of May before he was unavailable.

Carter did not play in Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals after he was hit in the foot with a pitch in Friday’s game. He got precautionary X-rays after he came back to the ballpark sore, per The Dallas Morning News (subscription required).

Carter took the pitch on the inside of his left foot during an at-bat on Friday. He walked to first base and was visited by both the team trainer and manager Skip Schumaker. He took a couple of minutes, did a test sprint and remained in the game.

There was no information on the status of his X-rays before the game.

Evan Carter’s Season and Injury History

Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson (3) and center fielder Evan Carter (32) celebrate after Pederson scores a run. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Carter’s focus since spring training has been less on trying to play every day and more on just being healthy and available. It was something both he and manager Skip Schumaker talked about while in Arizona. Before he missed Saturday’s game, he had only missed games due to scheduled rest or pitching matchups.

He’s already played in 56 games, close to his career high for a single season. He’s slashing .175/.296/.343 with six home runs and 18 RBI. While his home runs are a career high for an MLB season and his defense remains excellent, he’s still a bad matchup against left-handed pitching and usually sits in those matchups.

Yet, his availability this season has been much better than his previous two full MLB seasons.

Injuries have been an issue since after his brief debut in 2023, during which he helped Texas win its first World Series title. He won an opening day job in 2024 but only played 45 games as he slashed .188/.272/.361 with five home runs. He suffered a stress reaction that was eventually diagnosed as a lumbar strain. He had an ablation procedure that offseason.

He needed a later start in spring training in 2025 and didn’t make the opening day roster. But he did play 63 games as he slashed .247/.336/.392 with five home runs and 25 RBI. He missed time with a right quad strain and back spasms. But it was a right wrist fracture that ended his season in late August.

The Rangers are already down one outfielder as Wyatt Langford has been on the injured list since April with a right forearm strain. He started a rehab assignment on Saturday at Round Rock, but he’s expected to need a few games before he can return to the Rangers. Langford said on Friday he is targeting June 5 against Cleveland.