SURPRISE, Ariz. — There was a huge sigh of relief all across the Rangers organization earlier in the week when team orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister opened up top prospect Sebastian Walcott’s elbow and determined he didn’t need full Tommy John ligament reconstruction, but merely a less invasive internal brace.
Of all those invested in Walcott’s future, though, perhaps the least anxious about the ultimate type of procedure was Walcott himself.
“I kind of had the feeling that it was going to be the brace, just based on how I was feeling about the whole thing,” Walcott said Wednesday upon returning to camp. “I didn’t have any regular pain, only when I was throwing, so I was pretty confident about the brace. But for [Meister] to come back and give me the good news that he just repaired it a little bit was good to hear.”
Walcott is expected to be sidelined for at least 10 weeks from all baseball activity, but said he may be able to begin light swings in the three-to-four month window with an expected recovery that would allow him to hit in games around August. It will be longer, however, before he’s able to make game-speed throws. The Rangers left open the possibility that he could participate in the Fall Instructional League or the Arizona Fall League as a DH, depending on the recovery.
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Asked if he was going to make any guarantees about playing before the 2026 season was out, Walcott demurred.
“I’m just going to let it happen,” he said. “I don’t want to jinx myself too early. God has a plan. It’s his timing. He’s going to make sure I’m ready.”
Walcott said he will remain in Surprise to continue rehabbing after the Rangers break camp.
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