Jack Leiter makes second minor-league rehab start for right ankle injury

Jack Leiter made his second minor-league rehab start as he continues working back from a right ankle injury, per MLB.com. The Rangers right-hander remains on a rehab assignment, and no timetable for his return to the big-league rotation has been announced.

What happened

Leiter is on a rehab assignment and made his second minor-league start, per MLB.com. The report described him as progressing toward a return to the Rangers rotation. No details were provided about the outing itself — location, pitch count, results, or how the ankle responded.

The right ankle injury has kept Leiter out of the Texas rotation, though the report did not specify when the injury occurred, how long he has been sidelined, or what the original diagnosis was. The second rehab start is the most recent data point the club has made public.

Why it matters

The Rangers are carrying a rotation into the final weeks of the season without one of their young starters. Leiter's absence has left Texas leaning on a group that includes MacKenzie Gore, Cody Bradford, and Cal Quantrill in the upcoming series against the Angels. Whether Leiter can rejoin that group before the end of the regular season remains an open question.

A second rehab start suggests the club is building him back up incrementally — the standard protocol for a pitcher returning from injury. Pitchers on rehab assignments are permitted up to 30 days under league rules before they must be activated or moved, which means the clock is running, but the Rangers still have room to be deliberate about the process. The report offered no indication of how many more outings he might need before activation, or whether the ankle has fully healed.

For a team sitting 2 games back in the AL West and 2 games out of a Wild Card spot, every rotation slot carries real weight. The Rangers have won their last game and are trying to stay within striking distance of the postseason picture. A healthy Leiter would deepen the staff; more time lost to the ankle would force Texas to continue patching the back end of the rotation as the schedule tightens.

Where the club stands

The Rangers are 71-73 (.493), second in the AL West and 2 games behind the division leader. They sit fifth in the Wild Card race, 2.0 games back of the cut line. They have won their last game and open a three-game home series against the Angels on Friday at Globe Life Field.

MacKenzie Gore is scheduled to start the opener against Reid Detmers, followed by Cody Bradford against Ryan Johnson on Saturday, and Cal Quantrill against Yusei Kikuchi on Sunday. All three games are at Globe Life Field. The Angels series represents a chance to gain ground in a tight race, and Texas will be running that rotation without Leiter available for at least the next few days.

The broader context is worth noting: the Rangers are in a position where the rotation depth they carry into September could determine whether they stay in contention or fade. Under league rules, rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on September 1, which gives clubs a bit more flexibility to carry arms — but that flexibility only helps if those arms are healthy enough to pitch.

What we don't know yet

The report did not specify where Leiter made his second rehab start — which affiliate, what level, or what city. It also did not provide results: how many innings he threw, how many pitches, what his velocity looked like, or whether he experienced any discomfort in the ankle during or after the outing.

There is no public timetable for his return. MLB.com described him as progressing toward a return and working toward rejoining the rotation — language that signals forward movement without committing to a date. That phrasing is doing a lot of work, and it is worth reading it carefully: "progressing toward" is not the same as "ready."

It is also unclear how many more rehab starts the Rangers plan to give him before making a decision. Clubs often bring a starter back after two or three outings if the injury has healed and the arm is built back up to workload, but that calculus depends entirely on how the ankle is responding — information the report did not provide.

The nature of the right ankle injury has not been detailed publicly. The report did not characterize the injury beyond the body part, and it did not say when the injury occurred or how long Leiter has been out of the rotation.

What to watch

The next development to monitor is whether the Rangers schedule a third rehab start or move toward activation. Either outcome would likely surface in the next several days, and the club's choice will signal how confident the staff is in the ankle's recovery.

If Leiter does return, the question becomes where he slots into the rotation. Texas has Gore, Bradford, and Quantrill lined up for the Angels series, and the club will need to decide whether to insert Leiter into that group or wait until the next turn through the order. The timing of his return will depend on how the ankle responds to the second outing and how much more work the Rangers want to see before clearing him for a big-league start.

The Rangers are chasing both a division title and a Wild Card berth, and every rotation decision carries weight in that context. Leiter's rehab assignment is one of several moving pieces the club is managing as it tries to stay in the race. Per MLB.com, the process is moving forward. The rest — when he returns, how he looks, and whether the ankle is fully behind him — remains to be seen.