Rangers Notes: Time Right for Justin Foscue to Finally Claim MLB Job

Justin Foscue has had precious few opportunities for MLB at-bats. The former Texas Rangers first-round pick needs to jump on this opportunity.

Texas Rangers first baseman Justin Foscue. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

When the Texas Rangers moved infielder Josh Smith to the 10-day injured list with a right glute strain, the easy call was to promote Justin Foscue.

The former first-round pick out of Mississippi State has been waiting his turn. He’s been in the Majors before but has been unable to stuck. But he walks into an opportunity he hasn’t quite had before.

Along with Smith’s injury, the left-handed hitter has been mired in a slump. He was slashing .217/.324/.239 with no home runs and six RBI. Texas gave him a couple of days off last week to help him try and reset offensively. It helped. He had five hits in Detroit.

Ezequiel Duran started at second base in Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the New York Yankees and will likely be there during Smith’s IL stint. But the Rangers would be wise to give Foscue at-bats at two places to give him a chance to stick — designated hitter against left-handed pitching and at first base to give the struggling Jake Burger a spell.

Foscue has been terrific at Triple-A Round Rock, with a slash of .287/.407/.426 with two home runs and 14 RBI. But in 19 MLB games he’s slashed .059/.094/.098 with three RBI.

This is a chance for Texas to give Foscue at-bats at a time when they’re struggling in areas he can help. He slides easily into Andrew McCutchen’s at-bats at DH and Burger was slashing .212/.248/.380 after Tuesday’s game. He’s striking out nearly one-third of the time.

Foscue has something offer. It’s time for the Rangers to give him a real chance to show it. Given the offense’s struggles, he can’t hurt the lineup.

The Brandon Nimmo Situation

Texas Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required), right fielder Brandon Nimmo didn’t play on Tuesday against the Yankees because they are trying to manage his tight hamstring, suffered a week ago against the Yankees. Nimmo left Friday’s game in Detroit, missed Saturday’s game and then served as the designated hitter on Sunday.

Even with the extra day off in New York on Monday, the Rangers opted to sit him for an additional day. Grant reported that the Rangers considered putting Nimmo on the IL and calling up Michael Helman. But, with Wyatt Langford out and Smith now on the IL, Texas really can’t afford to put Nimmo on the IL, too.

So, expect Nimmo to miss a game here or there for the next three series, as the Rangers don’t have a day off until May 14.

Jacob deGrom’s Rough Night

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The good news is that Jacob deGrom pitched into the seventh inning The bad news was the six runs he gave up.

He ultimately absorbed a beating, as he gave up seven hits, six earned runs, one walk and two home runs. He also struck out seven. The rough part is that the Rangers’ offense handed deGrom a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and he lost it in the first two innings.

deGrom gave up just four earned runs in April. In doing so, he became the third pitcher in team history to finish a single month with at least 25 innings pitched, four or fewer runs allowed and 30 or more strikeouts in a month. The other two? Nathan Eovaldi did it twice, in May of 2023 and July of 2025. The other is a blast from the past — Jim Kern. The reliever did it in May of 1979 and has the lowest ERA of the four instances, 0.61.

Here’s the Latest Rangers News and Stories (click the headline for the full article):

Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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Rangers Tweets of the Day

Tuesday was a rough game for Jacob deGrom, but at least he got the best of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge at least once.

FULL AB: 2x Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom vs. 3x MVP winner Aaron Judge 🍿

deGrom wins this battle with a nasty changeup! pic.twitter.com/9IC3Uapikj

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2026

Before Tuesday’s game got out of hand, the Rangers were up 3-0, in part due to Joc Pederson.

3-spot in the 1st 👏 pic.twitter.com/9JUCg28K1A

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 5, 2026