Texas Rangers Star Evan Carter Says He is Back Where He 'Wants to Be'

This is what Texas Rangers fans expected to see more of from Evan Carter last year.

A slump and a back injury derailed his 2024, putting into question what was in store for 2025. A struggling showing throughout spring training led to Carter beginning the season with Triple-A Round Rock.

He was finally called back up the Major Leagues in time for the Rangers’ series at the Boston Red Sox. Carter came out swinging and it felt good.  

Rangers Hoping Evan Carter Is Turning Things Around

“At the end of the day, though, this is where I want to be,” Carter said at Fenway Park, according to MLB.com. “I want to be competing here and helping the team win here. Everything that I’ve done is about trying to be able to get back here and help the team win. I’m doing everything that I can do to be the best version of myself every day, and that’s all I can control.”

Carter went 2-for-5 with a run in his first MLB game of the season, as the Rangers pounded out 16 hits in a 6-1 victory over Boston. The offensive display came with new hitting coach Bret Boone sitting in the dugout.

The 22-year-old Carter started in center field, a position vacated by the release of Leody Taveras. The move to center always seemed to be the eventual landing spot for Carter, provided his bat was right.

It wasn’t last season before a stress reaction in his back meant a trip to the injured list before being shut down in August. He wasn’t any better at the plate in the Cactus League.

It was a far cry from what Texas fans saw in the 2023 postseason. Carter, a late-season callup, took a starring role in the World Series-winning run, batting .300 (18-60) with nine doubles. That set an MLB record for two-baggers in a single postseason by a rookie. 

He started slow this season for Round Rock, but has made progress to turn things around over the last few weeks. In the 14 games before returning to the Rangers, Carter batted .288 (15-52) with seven extra-base hits and a .577 slugging percentage.

“This is the best I have felt in a while,” Carter said, according to MLB.com. “It actually doesn’t hurt to swing anymore. I feel free, and it doesn’t feel like I am getting stabbed in the back every time I try to swing. … I feel great right now, I’m really excited with where I’m at.”