Carter placed on 10-day IL with all-too-familiar back injury
This browser does not support the video element.
SEATTLE -- The Rangers didn’t add a bat ahead of Thursday's Trade Deadline. And unfortunately, they just lost another one as well.
Texas announced ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Mariners at T-Mobile Park that outfielder Evan Carter was going on the injured list with back spasms that have been nagging him for a couple of days. This is the second IL stint for Carter this season, after he was sidelined from May 18 to June 3 with a right quad strain.
Rookie outfielder Alejandro Osuna was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to take Carter’s place on the active roster.
Carter’s back issues have been the story of the last couple of seasons for the 22-year-old. He had an ablation procedure performed by Dr. Troy Foster in Dallas at the end of the 2024 season.
When Carter was called up in September 2023, he hit .306 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 23 games before becoming a key piece of the Rangers' World Series-winning run as a 21-year-old. But a nagging back injury affected his swing in 2024, when he slashed just .188/.272/.361 in 45 games.
This browser does not support the video element.
After dealing with back soreness throughout May 2024, the Rangers placed Carter on the injured list on May 28 with a lumbar sprain. He and the club attempted multiple ramp-ups in the following months before he was shut down for the year in August.
Even going back to his Minor League career, Carter's back has been something that’s affected him for various lengths of time. He played only 32 games with Single-A Down East during his professional debut in 2021 due to a stress fracture in his back, though he slashed .236/.438/.387 in a 32-game sample that season.