Early injury vastly improves these 2 Rangers' odds of making opening day roster

We're not even a week into spring training, and already the Rangers are having to shuffle the roster because of an unfortunate injury. Up-and-comer Cody Freeman has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back that will keep him sidelined for four to six weeks, according to manager Skip Schumaker.

While the organization will eagerly await Freeman's return, the door has swung wide open for two players to make the opening day roster who likely wouldn't have otherwise.

Justin Foscue and Cameron Cauley now move up in the pecking order

With the injury to Freeman, there is now little doubt that Josh Smith will inherit Marcus Semien's second base spot. It also means that everyone behind Smith will move up a rung on the depth chart, including middle infielders Justin Foscue and Cameron Cauley.

Foscue has had several short stints with the Rangers dating back to 2024. In 19 games over two seasons, he is just 3-51 (.059) playing primarily at first base and DH with a handful of appearances at 2B.

Cauley had has best season as a pro in 2025 at Frisco, dropping a slash of .253/.325/.448. He mashed 15 homers and led the Roughriders with 48 extra-base hits.

Who will be Josh Smith's backup now that Cody Freeman is injured?

Foscue and Cauley are both right-handed hitters who have shown good power during their minor league careers. Of the two, Cauley is the more natural middle infielder and has better range defensively.

The Rangers have been trying to shoehorn Foscue into the major league lineup by moving him over to first base and slotting him at DH to get his bat in the lineup. Still, the 27-year-old hasn't made much of his opportunities and has been pinballing between Triple-A Round Rock and Arlington for several years now.

Cauley is just 23, and he feels like he has more upside than Foscue, having improved each year as he progresses through the organization's farm system. Now that his bat seems to be coming around, he shows a lot of promise.

Both were on the outside looking in as they also jockey with veterans Ezekiel Duran, Sam Haggerty, and Michael Helman for a utility spot.

Now, they should be viewing these spring sessions as an open audition to make the opening day roster, particularly with Freeman shelved for at least a month and a half.