Rangers bring back pitcher who punched wall, option struggling reliever to Triple-A

After the Texas Rangers revealed that reliever Brock Burke had managed to break his hand after punching a wall, his future with the organization was in question.

The Rangers haven't needed any help with guys getting hurt, and the fact that Burke hurt himself in such spectacularly stupid fashion had even the Rangers' beat writers wondering if the pitcher's time with Texas was over.

However, it appears as though the very remorseful Burke has been forgiven by the Rangers. On Wednesday, Burke was reinstated from the injured list and Texas optioned Grant Anderson to Triple-A to make room for him.

Rangers News: Brock Burke gets another chance with Texas after reinstatement from IL

Upon his return, Burke was extremely remorseful for his actions that led to his injury and expressed how embarrassed he was at the whole episode. He knows exactly how bad of a spot it put the team in and appears genuine in saying that he wants to help the team win games. If he can get back to being the guy he was in 2022 when he posted a 1.97 ERA (or close to it) without losing his cool, his return could be a huge boost to the Rangers' struggling bullpen.

As for Grant Anderson, he was the logical choice to be sent down once the decision was made to keep Burke around. In Anderson's 16 appearances with Texas in 2024, he posted a gross 9.53 ERA and slightly better — but still bad — 7.33 FIP due to his propensity for giving up home runs. Burke doesn't have much of a bar that he has to clear to be an improvement over what Anderson was giving Texas.

More importantly, Burke gives the Rangers a much-needed lefty in their bullpen that has some upside. Sure, he is going to be rusty given that he had surgery to fix his hand and it is going to take some time for him to regain Bruce Bochy's trust in big spots. That said, Burke coming back and being motivated to contribute again has a chance of making a notable difference for a struggling bullpen right now.

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