Rangers Place Kumar Rocker on IL With Right Shoulder Impingement, Only Expected to Miss Two Starts
Texas Rangers rookie right-hander Kumar Rocker has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder impingement, the club announced prior to Thursday’s matchup versus the Athletics.
Rocker reported discomfort in his shoulder to team trainers following Wednesday’s outing at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, where he allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk over 1.2 innings in a 5-2 loss to the A’s. After undergoing testing, it was revealed he’d require an IL stint, which the team hopes will be brief.
The Rangers expect the 25-year-old hurler to only miss the minimum required 15 days before returning, meaning he’d be unavailable for at least two turns through the starting rotation.
“It could be a time, I guess, to self-reflect or whatever,” Bochy told reporters Thursday in Sacramento, including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. “The biggest thing is that he gets healthy. He may benefit a bit from the time on the IL.”
Rocker is the latest Rangers starter to land on the IL this season, joining Cody Bradford (elbow sprain), Jon Gray (fractured right wrist) and Jack Leiter (blister). The good news, however, is that the last of those three is expected to be activated this weekend and assume Rocker’s spot in the rotation against the San Francisco Giants.
Leiter, who last started in the majors on Apr. 2 versus the Cincinnati Reds, tossed 4.2 scoreless innings of one-hit, one-walk ball while striking out four in a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday.
Despite Wednesday’s rough outing, Rocker was tremendous during his prior start on Apr. 17 – the longest of his young major league career – as he recorded eight strikeouts (also a career-high) over seven frames, surrendering three runs on five hits without issuing a walk. He was also effective during his other home start a few weeks earlier, holding the Tampa Rays to just one run across five innings.
Pitching on the road has been a different story for the third-overall selection from 2022, though, considering his inflated 15.75 ERA and 8.39 FIP in three starts away from Globe Life Field this season.
“It’s pretty obvious [the splits] are different,” Bochy said. “Some guys are better at home than on the road. That’s not too unusual. But you have to execute your pitches on the road, just like you do at home. He just couldn’t get settled in [on Wednesday]. That’s part of the growth for a young pitcher, learning to pitch well on the road.”
It is worth noting that this is a very small sample size, and these types of extreme home-road splits usually normalize over a full season. Having said that, it’s somewhat noteworthy that of the three home runs and five walks that Rocker’s allowed in 2025, all have occurred on the road.
Since joining Texas’ rotation last September, Rocker has made eight career major league starts, posting a 6.54 ERA and 4.05 FIP with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks over 31.2 innings. He’s also pitched to a 1-5 record but remains without a victory this season.
While the Rangers have dropped two straight entering Friday’s series opener at Oracle Park, they still sit three games above .500 at 14-11, tied for top spot in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: R Hensley. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.