Oblique injuries appear to be making the rounds inside the Rangers’ clubhouse.
On Friday, outfielder Wyatt Langford was placed on the injured list due to a mild oblique strain that has bothered him for the past couple of weeks. Langford had been absent from three of the team’s last six games after previously starting 46 of 47 contests between April 28 and June 19.
He now joins first baseman Jake Burger, who was placed on the IL on June 21 with a similar oblique issue. Langford’s IL move is retroactive to June 25.
“It’s just the smart move with two scheduled off-days,” explained Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. “This minimizes the number of games missed. The strain is very minor—borderline not even requiring an IL stint—but with the timing and how he’s been feeling, we decided it was best to address it early and let him fully recover.”
Langford previously dealt with oblique issues from April 9–20 and also missed time during Spring Training with the same type of injury. However, he said this current strain doesn’t feel as severe as the previous ones.
The second-year outfielder started the season strong, posting a .310/.397/.655 line in April. Since May, though, his performance has dipped, batting just .203 with a .626 OPS over his last 46 games. Overall, Langford is hitting .232/.308/.421 this season, with 13 home runs (a team high), 10 doubles, 31 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases across 67 games.
