Left available by his former team, the 24-year-old flamethrower now gets an opportunity to shine in Texas.
Texas Rangers pitcher Carter Baumler throws in the bullpen during a spring training workout at the team's training facility on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.That’s exactly the position that Carter Baumler wanted to be in.
“It’s kind of something I’ve been hoping for, honestly, for the last couple of years,” Baumler said Saturday afternoon. “I’m honestly thankful that the Rule 5 draft is a thing.” It’s the type of thing that can place an inexperienced minor leaguer who hasn’t pitched above Double-A on the doorstep of a major league breakthrough. The Rangers acquired Baumler, a 24-year-old right-hander,The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Baumler in the first round of the draft and immediately traded him to the Rangers in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Jaiker Garcia and cash considerations. He must remain on the major league roster for the entirety of the season, and if he doesn’t, he must pass through outright waivers before he is offered back to his original team. The Rangers expressed interest in Baumler, a fifth-round pick out of Dowling Catholic , prior to the COVID-19-shortened 2020 draft. He was committed to TCU before he signed with the Orioles and his younger brother, Trever, pitches for the Horned Frogs now. That’s one reason why he “loves the Rangers” and said that he would’ve chosen to play for them over any other team in the league.He’s one of several candidates who will compete for the two-to-three available spots in the restructured big league bullpen over the next five weeks. The quintet of right-handerand left-hander Robert Garcia are effectively locks so long as they remain healthy. The potential inclusions of right-hander Alexis Díaz and left-hander Jacob Latz during a spring training workout at the team's training facility on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.“He’s going to probably try to throw 100 mph his first game out there,” Schumaker said. “Calm down, take it all in, believe that he can do it. We got him for a reason. We believe that he can get outs at the major league level.” That Baumler hasn’t yet is partly a byproduct of injuries. He’s pitched only 88 2/3 professional innings in four seasons because Tommy John surgery and a shoulder procedure slowed him down. Last season was his longest yet, and in 39 2/3 innings, he zoomed through three levels of the minor leagues and yielded a 2.04 ERA in 28 games. He didn’t allow a run and held hitters to a .115 average in six games at Double-A Aberdeen before the year ended.“I think it’s more so pretty cool than anything,” Baumler said of his relative dearth of professional experience. “I don’t need the 300 innings that a lot of high schoolers get. I think it’s a cool thing rather than something that’s negative.”Embarrassed? Joc Pederson prefers ‘motivated’ when discussing his career-worst 2025 season The Rangers’ DH spent the offseason getting mind and body right, and getting a little kooky with his swing after cratering offensively last season.Jordan Montgomery’s Rangers homecoming has all the makings of a Hallmark moment Montgomery’s road back to the mound with Texas will be a long one, but his happiness to be back with the Rangers was apparent.Shawn covers the Texas Rangers and college sports for The News. He joined The Dallas Morning News after covering UConn basketball, football and high school sports for The Hartford Courant. A Boston area native, Shawn graduated from Springfield College in 2018 and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Baseball America.
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