Jul 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Winn (60) and catcher Jonah Heim (28) celebrate after the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Globe Life Field. Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Texas Rangers Swap Relief Pitchers on Injured List Coming into Crucial Stretch

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Sean O'Leary | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Texas Rangers are in an interesting spot to being September. They've lost two in a row, but are 7-3 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, they are just a game and a half behind the struggling Seattle Mariners for the third Wild Card spot in the American League.

They have reached a crucial point of the season and they host the first place Houston Astros this weekend for a three game set. Sitting only 5.5 games behind the Astros in the division, they could gain some exponential ground this weekend.

They are without stars Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Nathan Eovaldi going forward, meaning they're going to have to play their best ball of this season against an Astros team who could take their series against the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

On Thursday's off day, Texas learned they will be getting one of their bullpen aces back for the critial weekend series.

Cole Winn Re-Joins the Bullpen When They Need Him Most

On Thursday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that Cole Winn would be activated from the injured list with left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe hitting the shelf.

Winn was placed on the 15-day IL on August 20 and made one rehab start on Tuesday where he pitched a shutout inning without allowing a hit.

The Rangers have played yo-yo with the 25-year-old this season, as this is his third different stint thus far. After a rocky start to his career in 2024, where he allowed 15 runs in 17.1 innings, Winn has managed to bounce back in 2025.

In 31 innings, the right-hander has allowed just five earned runs (1.45 ERA) with 26 strikeouts and a 1.000 WHIP.

He has the ability to fool batters with a six-pitch mix that is divided pretty equally among the top five pitches. His two best swing-and-miss pitches are the slider, with which he generates a 38.1 whiff percentage, and his splitter, which gets whiffs 40 percent of the time. Among his main offerings, the splitter is the least used at 13 percent of the time, according to Baseball Savant.

The former first-round pick, who was a starter up until last year, has proved that he deserves a permanent spot in the bullpen moving forward. He could play a vital role in the later innings during this playoff push.

The corresponding move for Winn was placing Danny Coulombe on the injured list with shoulder fatigue retroactive to September 1. Since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the deadline, the veteran lefty hasn't been the same. He's allowed seven runs in 8.1 innings, compared to the four he allowed in 31 innings with Minnesota.

This article first appeared on Texas Rangers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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