Rangers bullpen is crashing out in front of our eyes and we can't turn away

For as long as Texas Rangers' fans can rememeber, the weakest link of any of their teams has been the uncertainity surrounding the bullpen.

It was a critical point of contention during the team's World Series run in 2023 and it has continued to be that over the last few seasons as bullpen arms keep getting rotated in and out year-after-year with no true core to lean on.

The first 18 games of the 2026 season have remained true to that statement. From the early injury to a promising rookie to the inconsistencies of two pitchers counted on to be the answer late in games.

Carter Baumler's injury wrecked Rangers' backup plans

The greatest story coming out of spring training was the 24-year-old Rule 5 Draft pick Carter Baumler finally getting the news he's waiting forever to hear. In fact, it made national headlines for just how special that moment was.

However, shortly after making his big league debut on Opening Day in Philadelphia, the right-hander found himself on the injured list with a right intercostal strain. He only has appeared in four games this year, recording a 3.18 ERA and six strikeouts.

Everyone was high on what Baumler brought to the bullpen. His ability to touch 98 mph on his fastball, mixed with perhaps one of the most effective curveballs players have seen, set Texas up to have a future closer in-waiting.

The intercostal strain obviously has delayed that and altered Skip Schumaker's plans for his bullpen. That led to Luis Curvelo's recall from Triple-A Round Rock, which tragically might have come to an end with the injury he suffered during Tuesday's 2-1 loss in Sacramento.

Baumler's IL stint was retroactive to April 5 and the team expects him to be able to make a return when he 15-day period ends. Since then, there's been no other update on the progress of his recovery.

Inconsistency set impossible standards for bullpen

Believe it or not but the Rangers' bullpen actually has the second best bullpen ERA (2.30) in Major League trailing only the reigning AL West champion Seattle Mariners.

Sometimes in baseball, the failures of the few get overshadowed by the collective success. That's exactly what is happening with the Rangers as they navigate the inconsistencies and question marks surrounding Robert Garcia and Chris Martin.

Both entered the season as frontrunners to be the team's closer and for the most part is has been them in some form of high-leverage spots. Neither lead the team in saves, that honor belongs to Jakob Junis, but both are indeed responsible for the bullpen's two blown saves this year.

Those struggles by their two backend bullpen pitchers has put other relief arms in situations they didn't envision being in. Alongside Junis, Tyler Alexander and Cole Winn have been given save opportunities early in the year, for a combined six save chances.

Now with Martin and Curvelo both headed to the 15-Day IL, in comes rookie Gavin Collyer and veteran Cal Quantrill trying to help fill out bullpen roles and settle the remaining staff into more solidifed positions.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow