Rangers center fielder Evan Carter underwent labrum surgery on his right hip last week, president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters on Monday (link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). Young said that while Carter is expected to play for a good portion of the 2027 season, he’s not likely to be ready for Opening Day — presuming the season itself starts on time.
It’s yet another injury setback for Carter, who battled back issues early in his career. He had a relatively healthy ’26 campaign in terms of avoiding the injured list, only missing two weeks in the middle of June with a right oblique strain. Carter easily established new career highs in games played (141) and plate appearances (455) but slogged through a miserable offensive season. He batted .194/.288/.315 with nine home runs.
Among hitters with 400+ PAs, only Cal Raleigh and Matt McLain had a lower batting average. Carter was fifth from the bottom in slugging and in the bottom 15 in on-base percentage despite a strong 10.3% walk rate. He struck out a quarter of the time and made a lot of weak contact. Carter also continued to struggle mightily in limited looks against left-handed pitching; he’s a .110 hitter and still doesn’t have an extra-base hit against a southpaw in his major league career (145 plate appearances).
The Rangers should’ve been in the center field market even if Carter were fully healthy. His injury only makes that a more urgent need. Young acknowledged as much, at least in the immediate future. “It doesn’t change our belief in Evan long term, but it does change our short-term plans that we need to have a backfill (with) somebody who can certainly fill in or play a very solid center field and hopefully contribute offensively,” he told reporters.
The alternative would be to play Wyatt Langford up the middle. Langford is an above-average runner who has posted plus defensive grades in his 523 1/3 career innings as a center fielder. He’s among the game’s best defensive left fielders and was a Gold Glove finalist in the corner this year. Langford should be capable of playing a quality center field, though the Rangers would still need to add a corner outfielder opposite Brandon Nimmo. They’re otherwise looking at the likes of Alejandro Osuna and Cam Cauley playing regular roles.
That’s before considering the idea that even a healthy Carter might not be a long-term answer. Although Young stressed publicly that they’re still bullish on the 24-year-old’s future, he’s a career .215/.307/.368 hitter who at least needs a right-handed hitting platoon partner. Texas could continue giving top shortstop prospect Sebastian Walcott reps in the outfield, but there’s also the possibility that they try to line up a Corey Seager trade this winter.
Luis Robert Jr., Daulton Varsho, Trent Grisham, Tyrone Taylor, Cedric Mullins and Myles Straw are options in a weak free agent center field class. Robert and Taylor are righty bats who could shield Carter from southpaws when he’s healthy. Grisham is probably better suited for a corner spot at this stage of his career (though Texas could sign him to play left and use Langford in center). Taylor Ward is available as another left field option. The trade market could feature the likes of Steven Kwan, Jake McCarthy, Jarren Duran, Colton Cowser and Dane Myers. Texas also has needs at catcher, designated hitter/first base, and potentially second base depending on their plan for Walcott.
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