Jack Leiter Undergoes Arthroscopic Ankle Surgery

Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter was placed on the 15-day injured list a couple of days ago with a right ankle posterior impingement. It appears he will be out for more than 15 days. Per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, Leiter underwent arthroscopic surgery this morning to remove a loose body from that ankle. Landry adds that the Rangers expect him back this season but the timeline is fluid. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News says Leiter will be out until August, if not longer.

That deals a hit to the Texas rotation going forward, even though Leiter wasn’t having an amazing season. He posted a 5.29 earned run average over 15 starts before hitting the IL. Perhaps the ankle played a role, as he first hurt himself in April but tried play through the pain. He had a 4.34 ERA through the end of May. Three June starts resulted in 15 earned runs allowed over 13 2/3 innings, increasing that ERA by almost a full run.

The Rangers have effectively had the same rotation quintet of Leiter, Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore and Kumar Rocker all year. Leiter’s absence means they will have to figure out how to fill his slot for an extended period of time.

Cal Quantrill is taking the ball today but it’s unclear how deep he will be able to go. He has starting experience and has been in a long relief role but he hasn’t gone longer than 2 1/3 innings in the past month. Joe Ross is in the bullpen but is in a similar situation, as he has mostly been pitching about two innings at a time lately. José Corniell was stretched out in the minors but is now on the active roster, so he could be another option for some length.

If the Rangers aren’t satisfied with that group, they could pivot, but they don’t have a lot of exciting alternatives. Jordan Montgomery is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery and recently began a rehab assignment but only tossed one inning, so he’s probably still several weeks away. Cody Bradford, who also underwent elbow surgery last year, is up in the air at the moment. David Davalillo is on the 40-man roster but has a 7.59 ERA in Triple-A this year. The Rangers just signed Marco Gonzales to a minor league deal but he had a 7.99 ERA at Triple-A with the Padres before being released. Non-roster guys like Josh Stephan and Trey Supak have ERAs north of 5.00 in Triple-A as well.

In the short term, perhaps the Rangers will keep an eye out for guys to shake loose from other clubs, whether that’s from being designated for assignment or opting out of a minor league deal. Further down the line, if they stay in the playoff race through July, then perhaps a more notable upgrade at the trade deadline will be on the table.