ARLINGTON -- Just weeks after working his way back to the big leagues, Rangers center fielder Evan Carter has landed on the injured list.
Carter was scratched from Saturday’s starting lineup with quad tightness before being placed on the injured list on Sunday with a Grade 2 right quad strain. Manager Bruce Bochy said the scans showed the injury was worse than they expected, and the 22-year-old will miss at least two weeks to work his way back.
Carter has hit .182/.270/.273 with one home run and three RBIs in 11 MLB games since getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock on May 6.
Since becoming one of baseball’s most exciting prospects in 2023, Carter has struggled with a nagging back injury that affected his swing for the last year. He opened this season with Round Rock as his struggles at the plate persisted throughout Spring Training (.419 OPS and 15 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances).
Carter hit .221/.333/.416 in 21 games for Round Rock this year, but each of his seven extra-base hits (three home runs, two triples, two doubles) came in his last 14 games before the callup.
“We don't want that quad to change something and end up hurting something else or really tear it,” Bochy said. “That's why he's gonna have some time off. He’ll come back, but we want to make sure that things are healed up.”
Because the Rangers placed Leody Taveras on waivers when Carter was called up, a pair of veterans in Kevin Pillar and Sam Haggerty will share the center-field reps until he returns.
Pillar was activated from the 10-day injured list on Sunday after missing the club’s last 13 games with lower back inflammation. He went on a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Wednesday, going 1-for-10 with one run scored across three starts for the RoughRiders.
Haggerty was added to the Rangers’ roster on May 9 and has hit .286 in six big league games.