The Texas Rangers opened their offseason with a problem they had not planned for. Center fielder Evan Carter underwent an arthroscopic procedure last week on his right hip, and Chris Young, the club's president of baseball operations, said Monday that Carter is not expected to be ready when the 2027 season begins.
Dr. William J. Robertson performed the procedure in Arlington to treat a labral injury and impingement in the hip, MLB.com reported. Carter ended the year with discomfort that carried into the offseason, Young said, and that he chose surgery after consulting two specialists. The club still expects him to play a substantial part of next season.
A season the hip may explain
Young suggested the injury had been affecting Carter longer than anyone knew. "I do believe, in light of what we've learned in this diagnosis for Evan, that it probably impacted him to some degree over the course of the season," he said, according to MLB.com.
Carter played a career-high 141 games, and The Associated Press reported that all 112 of his defensive starts came in center field. He hit .194 with a .288 on-base percentage, nine home runs, 40 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. His defense kept him in the lineup; he was an American League Gold Glove finalist at the position.
Young said team doctors anticipate a full recovery, but that Carter's winter will be spent rehabbing rather than building toward spring training.
Who plays center in April
The Rangers now need what Young called a backfill: someone who can play a solid center field and add some offense if Carter is not ready on time or suffers a setback. Young said the diagnosis does not change the organization's long-term belief in Carter, only its short-term plans.
One internal answer would be sliding Wyatt Langford over from left field and finding a new left fielder. Young raised that possibility but said Texas is not committed to it, MLB.com reported. Langford was also a Gold Glove finalist this season, CBS Sports noted.
The free-agent market is thin, according to CBS Sports. Citing FanGraphs' projections for 2027, the outlet ranked Trent Grisham as the best center fielder available, ahead of Luis Robert Jr., Daulton Varsho, Cedric Mullins and Tyrone Taylor.
Grisham, whom MLB.com described as a Fort Worth-area native, spent 2026 with the New York Yankees on a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer, according to Spotrac, and is now unsigned.
Trades are another path. CBS Sports listed Boston's Jarren Duran and Cleveland's Steven Kwan among center fielders who could be moved, along with cheaper glove-first candidates such as Denzel Clarke of the Athletics and Blake Perkins of the Guardians.
