Rangers' Cal Quantrill Exits Saturday's Start With Injury

Texas manager Skip Schumaker said postgame that Quantrill will get an MRI on Sunday, but the extent of the injury is unclear.

Quantrill has emerged as one of the Rangers’ most consistent arms this season amid their long list of pitching injuries.

Over 32 appearances (15 starts) in 2026, he is 9-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 110 innings. Quantrill has recorded 81 strikeouts against 25 walks, while opponents are hitting a career-low .218 against him.

All 15 of Quantrill’s starts this season have come since Jack Leiter landed on the injured list on June 21 because of right ankle arthroscopic surgery. Leiter’s progress also slowed after he experienced biceps soreness during his third rehab appearance with Triple-A Round Rock on August 26.

In addition to Leiter, Nathan Eovaldi missed a month because of right posterior elbow inflammation, while Cody Bradford has been limited to eight appearances (seven starts) in 2026 after returning from left elbow internal brace surgery that sidelined him for all of 2025.

Elsewhere, MacKenzie Gore has struggled to a 4.67 ERA over 32 starts in his first season with Texas, while Kumar Rocker has posted a 4.47 ERA over 29 games (26 starts).

This instability has left Quantrill and Jacob deGrom (3.79 ERA over 29 starts) as the rocks in the Rangers’ starting rotation.

That chaos has also left Texas’ bullpen overworked. Yet the Rangers have found success using starters in relief roles lately. Eovaldi tossed four scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, while Bradford tossed 4.1 scoreless innings versus Boston on Thursday.

Trevor Williams and Jordan Montgomery have continued Texas’ stretch of long-relief success against the Blue Jays, tossing four and 3.2 scoreless innings on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Despite the good results lately, the Rangers need stability from their starting rotation down the stretch. Quantrill’s departure Saturday only magnified how much Texas has relied on its bullpen. Since Sept. 1, Texas has used its starters for 72 innings and its bullpen for 79.

In a race as tight as the American League West, every position group must do its part as the Rangers pursue their first division title since 2016.

Entering Sunday, Texas (78-77) holds a one-game edge over the Houston Astros (77-78) atop the American League West. However, the Astros hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers by winning the head-to-head season series 9-4.

Texas will look to sweep Toronto on Sunday at 2:35 pm ET.

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