The Texas Rangers activated infielder Cody Freeman from the 10 day injured list on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, and optioned him to AAA Round Rock. In addition, on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the Rangers activated Cody Bradford from the 60 day injured list. To make room for Bradford on the active roster, pitcher MacKenzie Gore was placed on the paternity list. The 40 man roster had an open spot, so no move was necessary to put Bradford back on the 40 man roster. The 40 man roster is now full.
This is just
catching up on a couple of transactions from earlier this week. Freeman had been placed on the major league injured list due to a herniated disc in his neck, which he underwent surgery for on June 29. He started a rehab assignment with the ACL Rangers on July 20, played three games there, and then had the reahab assignment moved to Round Rock on July 25, where he’s been playing since.
Freeman started the season on the injured list due to a stress reaction in his lumbar area, which kept him out until mid-May. That resulted in him spending four days with the ACL club on a rehab assignment in mid-May, then playing three games for Frisco later in the month before joining Round Rock. He was called up and appeared in one game in early June before being sent back down, then was called up again a week later, playing in six games for the big league club before being put on the injured list on June 25 for the herniated disc.
Its been a frustrating season for Freeman, who was in the mix for a job on the Opening Day roster this spring before being sidelined by the injury. He’s appeared in just 32 games between the ACL, AA and AAA this year, accumulating 137 plate appearances, along with seven games in the majors.
Bradford’s return provided a much-needed boost to the Rangers, as he went 4.1 scoreless innings in his starts on Wednesday against the Giants in what was a 6-0 Rangers win, a game I attended (and thus wasn’t able to post about when the move happened, since I was driving to the Shed). Its been a long road back from internal brace surgery for Bradford, who was initially anticipated to potentially be back as soon as early May. However, after a rehab appearance for Round Rock on April 2, he reported soreness in the elbow and was shut down for a period of time.
The Rangers having MacKenzie Gore go on the paternity list gave them the ability to carry an extra arm and put off the decision on who to remove from the active roster for a brief period of time. A player can spend up to three days on the paternity list, so Gore will have to be activated either today or tomorrow. Assuming there are no injuries out there we aren’t aware of, Nolan Kingham would seem likely to be the guy dropped from the active roster.
The Rangers also have a decision to make in regards to Jordan Montgomery, who made his eighth rehab start for Round Rock this past Sunday, August 2, throwing 86 pitches over five shutout innings. I would assume that Montgomery would be activated for this weekend’s series rather than making another rehab appearance. Skip Schumaker has said that Montgomery could be used either in the rotation or in a relief role, and my guess is that he’ll be working out of the bullpen, at least initially, given there’s not currently an open spot in the Rangers’ rotation, and given that Montgomery’s stuff in his rehab appearances has been down compared to where he was pre-injury.
Montgomery will need a 40 man roster spot when he is activated, which could result in Kingham getting designated for assignment rather than simply optioned if the Rangers send down one of their relievers with options, such as Ben Peoples, Peyton Gray or Robby Ahlstrom, to make room for Montgomery. Cal Quantrill and Cole Winn are both out of options, so should the Rangers opt to cut loose one of them to make room for Montgomery, that would open up a 40 man roster spot, which would allow the Rangers to option Kingham, should they choose, rather than designate him for assignment.
