Wyatt Langford can’t catch a break as injury stalls Rangers’ young star’s offensive reset

So far, the 2026 season hasn't been kind to Wyatt Langford. After struggling to get his bat going, the Texas Rangers outfielder is once again facing another setback.

Placed on the 10-day IL with a grade one flexor strain, it's the second time in as many weeks that he'll have to miss multiple games due to an injury. At this rate, he'll be on the IL for good before summer's end. It's something that has been becoming a bit of a habit for the former fourth-overall pick, dating back to the 2024 season.

Injury exaggerates shaky April for Langford

Langford's injury really couldn't have come at a worse time for him as was just starting to come out of his slow start to the season, compiling a .362 slug and .626 on-base percentage in his last four games. This injury is troubling, no doubt about it, especially after the spring training he had that gave fans some hope that he might take that next step in his career.

The early career injuries and lack of taking the "next step" is probably the reason Langford won't be getting that contract extension that we've seen other young stars from around the league getting from their respective teams any time soon.

In the meantime, it won't be a significant loss for the Rangers. It was only recently that Langford got back into his groove, after all. They even have someone who's arguably been having a better season as his replacement: Alejandro Osuna. He's been on a hot streak since March and has shown few signs of slowing down.

Rangers call on Alejandro Osuna to keep up his own hot streak

For Alejandro Osuna, the offseason might not have gone as he hoped and his regular season roster spot was quickly brought into question after the season's end last year, when the Rangers traded for Brandon Nimmo. Then, he struggled in the World Baseball Classic, going hitless in three at- bats for team Mexico. However, things picked up for Osuna once he came back from the international tournament.

One of the best batters and fielders for the Rangers while they were in Arizona, he managed to keep the pace up when he got sent down to Triple-A. In his two months in Round Rock this year, Osuna has become one of the stars for the Express, slashing .264/.355/.354 with a home run, eight RBIs, three doubles and a .709 OPS in 17 games.

Despite missing Langford at least for the next 10 days, the Rangers are excited about the opportunity to see Osuna keep up his hot streak that he's been on since the end of the WBC.

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