Cody Bradford provides injury update as Rangers kick off 2026 spring training

Texas Rangers' fan got a bit of optimism in regard to lefty Cody Bradford on the first day of pitchers and catchers day in Surprise, Arizona on Tuesday.

Bradford, 27, remains on track for his targeted May return to the big leagues, he also threw his seventh bullpen with a mix of a few changeups, since his internal brace procedure last spring, which caused him to miss the entire season.

Bradford's return will bring security blanket to Rangers' pitching staff

While the Rangers are entering the 2026 season with one of the top 10 rotations in Major League Baseball, it is never a bad sign to have too many options when it comes to pitching.

More often than not, pitchers are the players on the ball field that suffer the most injuries, whether they be season-ending or short-term stints on the injured list.

Texas was still a victim of that despite leading MLB in team ERA last season with Bradford, Jon Gray, rising starJack Leiter and even their most reliable arm in Nathan Eovaldi's season being cut short after just 22 games started.

Bradford is likely to appear in several spring training games and start the year in the minors as he attempts that long-awaited May return to the big league roster. If he can return and perform as he did as he closed out the 2024 season, Texas will get a huge boost of insurance in the rotation and bullpen, regardless of where they insert Bradford.