ARLINGTON, Texas — Jack Leiter threw a bullpen session Sunday morning at Globe Life Field and reached 92 to 93 mph, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said, his first since arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle in June. Schumaker did not rule out a return before the regular season ends.
Leiter has not pitched in a major league game since June, and Texas has seven games left.
On The Skip Schumaker Show, the pregame segment Rangers Sports Network posts, Schumaker said the ankle looked good and that Leiter looked good physically coming out of the session.
“I don’t know. He threw a bullpen just now,” Schumaker said. “He was throwing 92, 93. Ankle looked good. Physically, he looked good. So, yeah, we’ll see. First bullpen in a while, which is obviously nice to see, obviously where we’re at.”
“We need all the arms we can get,” Schumaker continued. “And seeing him out in the bullpen was encouraging, but the first bullpen in a while. So we got to take a little bit more time.”
Jack Leiter’s Ankle Surgery And 2026 Season With The Texas Rangers
Texas placed Leiter on the injured list June 21, retroactive to June 19, and he underwent right ankle surgery on June 23 to remove a loose body, with symptoms similar to os trigonum syndrome, The Dallas Morning News reported at the time. The Rangers transferred him to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 9, and he remains there.
Across 15 starts in 2026, Leiter is 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA, 80 innings, and 83 strikeouts. He worked 151 2/3 innings over 29 starts in 2025 with a 3.86 ERA.
Texas drafted Leiter with the second overall pick in 2021 out of Vanderbilt University. His father, Al Leiter, pitched 19 seasons in the majors.
Texas Rangers Pitching Picture With Seven Games Left
Cal Quantrill took Leiter’s rotation spot in late June and made all 15 of his starts after the injury. Quantrill left Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays with right lat tightness after getting one out in the second inning, and Schumaker said Sunday it is a different injury from the back tightness that ended his Sept. 13 start in Arizona.
Nathan Eovaldi missed a month with right posterior elbow inflammation earlier this season, and MacKenzie Gore came out of his Sept. 16 start against the Boston Red Sox with muscle spasms in his back and the area under his shoulder. Five relievers covered the final 7 2/3 innings Saturday.
Jacob deGrom (11-9, 3.79 ERA) starts Sunday’s finale at 1:35 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. The Rangers (78-77) lead the Houston Astros by one game in the American League West, and Houston holds the tiebreaker after winning the season series 9-4. Texas hosts the New York Mets from Sept. 22 to 24 and closes at the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25 to 27.
