The Rangers had been dealt a significant damage blow on Saturday when DH Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch of their loss to the White Sox. Pederson initially stayed within the recreation however was later lifted for a pinch-hitter. Supervisor Bruce Bochy revealed to reporters (together with Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning Information) that Pederson suffered a fracture in his proper hand when he was struck by the pitch. Pederson informed reporters, together with McFarland, that he expects a restoration timeline of six weeks for the damage.
It’s a blow to a Rangers membership that has already struggled to remain wholesome this 12 months. Pederson will now be a part of Corey Seager and Evan Carter on the shelf from the membership’s lineup, along with accidents suffered by reliever Chris Martin and starters Kumar Rocker, Jon Grey, and Cody Bradford. These accidents have contributed to Texas’s struggles this 12 months, as they’ve posted a lackluster 25-28 report that’s left them three video games out of each a Wild Card spot and the AL West. With Josh Smith masking for Seager at shortstop and Sam Haggerty holding down heart discipline rather than Carter, the Rangers will seemingly be pressured to get inventive with changing Pederson.
One possibility could possibly be first baseman Blaine Crim, who did not report successful in a five-game cup of espresso earlier this 12 months however sports activities a .301/.369/.558 slash line this 12 months. One other could possibly be outfielder Dustin Harris, who has a 104 wRC+ in 45 journeys to the plate on the massive league degree and is the membership’s solely left-handed hitter already on the 40-man roster at Triple-A. Harris could possibly be a very engaging possibility if the Rangers wish to proceed beginning backup catcher Kyle Higashioka at DH towards left-handed pitchers, a task during which the membership is already carrying third catcher Tucker Barnhart with a purpose to accommodate on a extra common foundation.
Turning again to Pederson, it have to be acknowledged that for nonetheless a lot dropping his offensive prowess from the lineup might sting on paper, he hasn’t delivered a lot manufacturing in his first season with the group. Signed to a two-year, $37M assure over the winter, Pederson has hit a paltry .132/.266/.240 (51 wRC+) in 144 plate appearances up to now within the season. That’s hardly manufacturing a membership will miss from their lineup, however it’s unlucky timing nonetheless giving that Pederson had simply begun to look extra like his regular self on the plate: he’s hitting .220/.429/.444 with 4 extra-base hits and an eye-popping 26.5% stroll fee over his final 16 video games.
The Rangers can solely hope that he’ll be capable to decide up proper the place he left off when he returns to motion later this summer time. A six-week timetable would depart him poised to return in early July, shortly earlier than the All-Star break. Tough as his begin to the 2025 marketing campaign was, it goes with out saying that Pederson generally is a dynamic addition to nearly any lineup when wholesome; whereas he virtually completely performs towards right-handed pitching, the slugger slashed a wonderful .262/.365/.485 with a wRC+ of 135 and 61 homers in 387 video games over his final three seasons. That’s the Sixteenth-best wRC+ amongst all hitters with at the very least 1000 plate appearances in that span, sandwiched between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jose Ramirez on the leaderboard. If Pederson can provide that kind of manufacturing to the Rangers within the second half, it needs to be simple for followers to overlook his first-half struggles and damage woes as long as Texas hasn’t already fallen out of the playoff dialog earlier than he returns.
