Rangers Target Jack Leiter’s First Rehab Assignment in Return from Ankle Injury

The Texas Rangers got good news on injured right-handed starting pitcher Jack Leiter starting as they prepared for Sunday's game with the Baltimore Orioles.

Leiter was coming off a live batting practice on Saturday that saw him throw 33 pitches at full speed and in a variety of game situations. Rangers manager Skip Schumacher didn't want to say anything more until he saw how Leiter recovered from the outing on Sunday.

Leiter checked out on Sunday and per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required), Leiter will go on a rehab assignment next week assuming all goes well with his final bullpen session on Monday.

Grant reported that Texas could be targeting Thursday for the rehab assignment. Both Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco are at home this week.

Jack Leiter Nearing Rehab Assignment

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter throws a baseball during a game. — Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What isn't clear is how many pitches or how long Leiter will throw in his first rehab game. Considering he threw 33 pitches in a live batting practice and will throw another bullpen on Monday, it's possible the Rangers may look to scaffold him to as many as 45 or 50 pitches.

Major League teams like starters to reach 75 pitches before they consider activating them. Leiter, who has been out since June after ankle surgery, probably needs two or three rehab games before the Rangers feel comfortable considering activating him.

On Sunday, the Rangers moved him to the 60-day injured list as a procedural move to create room for Jonah Bride on the 40-man roster. He was moved to the IL on June 19 so he’s now eligible to be activated late next week.

Leiter was 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA in 15 games before the ankle surgery. That surgery was to remove an extraneous bone that Leiter was unaware of, as he told reporters in July. He said the pain was causing him to compensate for his delivery, which was causing a downturn in his performance.

He said on Saturday that he's no longer dealing with pain in the ankle, only the typical soreness and stiffness he would experience after bullpens and live BP’s.

The Rangers don't have to rush the right-hander back. Texas has a full rotation after adding left-hander Cody Bradford to the rota earlier this week. Texas also activated left-hander Jordan Montgomery on Friday but intend to use him as a reliever for now. He would move into the starting rotation if someone came up with an injury or suffered a downturn in performance.

Getting Leiter back will be a good problem for Texas. But the Rangers intend to be patient.

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