Key player Nightmare Season Ends With Surgery Bombshell
Rangers Slugger Headed Under the Knife
Rangers first baseman Jake Burger revealed he’ll undergo wrist surgery this week to repair a tendon sheath injury that’s plagued him since mid-August.
The procedure mirrors the one Josh Jung had after 2024—a surgery that still had him back for spring training—giving Texas some optimism for Burger’s return.
Jake Burger
A Trade That Backfired Fast
Burger, 29, was acquired from the Marlins last offseason in a deal that cost the Rangers prospects Maximo Acosta, Echedry Vargas, and Brayan Mendoza. The goal? Add pop against fastballs. The result? A flop.
Jake Burger
Despite tearing up four-seamers in Miami (.302 AVG, .651 SLG in 2024), Burger hit just .195 against them in his first year in Arlington.
From Power Threat to Power Outage
Burger’s overall line of .236/.269/.419 was the worst of his career and well below league average.
His bat speed dropped, his power disappeared, and his home run rate sank to a career low.
For a player brought in to crush velocity, the numbers were brutal.
Jake Burger
Injuries Piled On the Misery
The wrist wasn’t the only setback. Burger missed time with an oblique strain in June and a quad strain in July.
By August, he was battling a “popping” sensation in his wrist despite cortisone shots. Unsurprisingly, he limped through September in a slump.
Demotion to Triple-A Was the First Red Flag
Before the injuries, Burger’s season was already spiraling.
Jake Burger
A miserable April (.190/.231/.330) forced the Rangers to send him down to Triple-A.
He showed some improvement after returning, but his strikeout issues and collapse in plate discipline—an MLB-worst 3.2% walk rate—made him one of the least patient hitters in baseball.
Jake Burger
Can 2026 Save His Career?
The Rangers are betting on a healthy reset. Burger is under team control for three more years and heads into arbitration this winter.
For now, he’s penciled in as Texas’ first baseman in 2026, but after another missed playoff run, roster changes could alter that plan.
