SURPRISE, Ariz. – Sebastian Walcott, the top prospect in the Rangers’ organization and one of the top 10 in baseball, is expected to miss most or all of the season while recovering from elbow surgery.
President of Baseball Operations Chris Young made the surprise announcement Thursday morning. Walcott, whose time in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League was cut short by elbow inflammation, had rehabbed the elbow throughout the winter. But, according to Young, he felt renewed soreness as he ramped up throwing ahead of camp.
After seeing team physician Dr. Keith Meister, one of the world’s leading authorities on elbow injuries, and undergoing new imaging, structural changes were observed and the recommendation for surgery was made.
“The new diagnostics showed a signal different from where it was in the fall,” Young said. “And Keith was pretty confident at that point that this is going the wrong direction.”
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Walcott, who turns 20 on March 14, will undergo the surgery in the very near future. What is still to be determined is whether he will require full elbow ligament reconstruction, which carries a longer recovery period, or the internal brace procedure. Either way, Walcott should be in position to hit before he is ready to throw and the Rangers are optimistic that while he’s likely going to miss the minor league season, he should be able to get meaningful at-bats either in the fall or a winter league, even if it is only as a DH.
BREAKING: Sebastian Walcott is going to have elbow surgery and will likely miss most or all of 2026.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) February 12, 2026
‘It’s obviously not what we wanted to start camp,“ Young said. ”But he was shut down in the fall with an elbow issue [and this] probably wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities coming into camp.
“I think the big picture outlook is that this is a very special player who is going to go through a procedure right now, and he’s going to have a long, successful career. We’re going to get him right and he’ll be better for it. I talked to him this morning and shared some of my experiences over the course of my career, dealing with surgeries and the mentality that got me through it. And he’s already way ahead of where I was. So he’s just a special, special person. I hate it for him, but I also know the experience of this is going to make him a better person, a better player.”
Walcott, who is currently ranked the No. 7 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, slashed .255/.355/.386 in 124 games with the Frisco RoughRiders last year in Double-A, posting career bests in walk (13%) and strikeout (20%) rate.
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