Rangers Use Marlins Loss as Auditions to Replace Jack Leiter in Rotation

The hopes that Jack Leiter would only need 15 days to return to the starting rotation were dashed on Tuesday. Now the Texas Rangers have a real issue.

Leiter had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to remove a loose body from his injured ankle. He’s been dealing with it since April. The good news is that should correct the issue. The bad news is he’ll need time to recover. He’ll expected back but the time frame for return is not specific.

That means, for the first time this season, the Rangers will need a new regular starter in the rotation. Tuesday night’s game with the Marlins, a 6-4 loss, may have served as initial auditions for the job, which comes up again in the rotation on Sunday in Toronto.

Replacing Jack Leiter

Making the difficult look routine.@TMobile x #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/0RBoOA2vHW
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 23, 2026

After The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) reported on late Monday night that the Rangers were likely to use Tyler Alexander as an opener for the second straight game, they corrected course and opted to use Cal Quantrill as the starter.

The Rangers signed Quantrill to a minor-league deal in case the Kumar Rocker-Jacob Latz competition ended up with neither claiming the job. He didn’t make the opening day roster but was called up in April to handle multiple innings of relief. But he has significant experience as a starter, with 150 of his 203 appearances as a starter. He has a career 50-46 record, with his best season in 2022 when he went 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA.

Quantrill has worked multiple appearances in most of his appearances this year and he went two innings on Tuesday, giving up three hits and one run as he struck out one and walked none. He threw 34 pitches, 20 of which were strikes. He had been stretched out as a starter at Triple-A Round Rock and he has thrown at least 65 pitches in two games.

Quantrill was relieved by Jose Corniell, who made his season debut with the Rangers after he was promoted from Round Rock on Sunday. Corniell is one of the Rangers’ top prospects and has been a starter in the minor leagues. Texas had hoped he would give them multiple innings, as Kumar Rocker did on Monday when he pitched five innings after an opener.

Corniell went 3.1 innings, as he gave up seven hits, five earned runs and two walks against three strikeouts. He also gave up two home runs. He threw 69 pitches, 42 of which were strikes. It was his first game since June 12 when he threw five innings and gave up two hits and a run with five strikeouts and no walks.

What Texas does next isn’t clear. It seems unlikely the Rangers will move Latz back into a starting role as he’s become too valuable to them as the closer. There are no other starters on the staff. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is at least a month away from returning from Tommy John rehab.

But, based on Tuesday’s game, the Rangers may keep looking for a fifth starter.

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