ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers will temporarily be without one of their best hitters as they begin the third-to-last series of the regular season.
Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford has “side tightness,” manager Bruce Bochy said, and won’t start Friday’s series opener vs. the Miami Marlins at Globe Life Field. Rookie Alejandro Osuna, who’s slashed .333/.415/.361 in his last 15 games, will start in left field and bat second in Langford’s place.
Bochy said that Langford had been battling discomfort but, on Friday, it reached a point where he needed to sit. Bochy acknowledged that there’s “always a concern” that side injuries could develop into more serious oblique injuries, but for now, the 23-year-old is considered day-to-day.
“We’ll just see where he’s at tomorrow,” Bochy said. “If he needs another day, he’ll get another day.”
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Langford has already taken two trips to the injured list this season because of oblique strains and missed 17 games total because of them. He missed nine games with a right oblique strain from April 9-20 and missed eight games with a left oblique strain from June 25-July 5.
His 5.4 WAR accumulated this season, per Baseball Reference, ranks second among all Rangers hitters behind only shortstop Corey Seager. Langford became the youngest player in franchise history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in Tuesday’s loss to the Houston Astros.
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