ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers placed designated hitter Joc Pederson on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a fractured left hand. The move is retroactive to Sept. 19, which leaves him eligible to return Sept. 29.
The regular season ends Sept. 27 at Minnesota. The postseason begins Sept. 29.
Injured list placements can be backdated a maximum of three days. Sept. 19 was the earliest date available to Texas when it made the move Tuesday.
Pederson’s placement was one of several roster moves Tuesday. Texas also reinstated infielder/outfielder Michael Helman from the 60-day injured list, transferred right-hander Cal Quantrill to the 60-day list, activated right-hander Peyton Gray from the 15-day list, and optioned left-hander Adam Macko to the Arizona Complex League Rangers.
Joc Pederson’s Hand Fracture And Recovery Timeline
Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt hit Pederson with a fastball Sept. 12 at Chase Field. X-rays came back negative. An MRI on Sept. 14 found a small fracture, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported. Pederson has not played since.
On Sept. 17, Pederson said the pain had gone from “sharp” to “dull.” He said he was still “a couple of days at the absolute quickest” from swinging a bat, The Dallas Morning News reported. That afternoon, he walked the Globe Life Field clubhouse holding a bat of about 12 ounces, MLB.com reported. Pederson hit off a tee Tuesday afternoon, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reported.
On Monday, president of baseball operations Chris Young said on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation that swelling in the wrist was the only thing holding Pederson back.
“We’ve kept him alive,” Young said. “We have not put him on the IL to this point because we’re hopeful that he will be able to contribute at some point, even if it’s for the last game of the season and that game matters. We would love to have Joc in the lineup or even available to pinch-hit, but at this point I cannot tell you with certainty as to when that’s going to be.”
Young said Pederson was doing everything he could. He said Pederson’s energy and support of his teammates had kept the clubhouse up every day.
“We’re hoping that tomorrow he’ll come in and feel a little bit better, and we can advance some more hitting,” Young explained. “But we’ve got to let that pain and swelling calm down, and we don’t want to put him in harm’s way any further. So I can’t say today. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have a better update.”
Joc Pederson’s 2026 Season With The Texas Rangers
Pederson is batting .235/.329/.487 with 26 home runs and 53 RBIs in 136 games. He sits one homer behind team leader Jake Burger. Against right-handed pitching, Pederson has slashed .245/.338/.496 with 25 home runs.
Pederson missed two months last season after a pitch fractured his right hand in May. He batted .181/.285/.328 with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs in 96 games that year, his first in Texas. His two-year, $37 million contract, signed before the 2025 season, includes an $18.5 million mutual option for 2027.
Texas (78-78) leads the Houston Astros by one game in the American League West with six games left. Houston holds the tiebreaker. MacKenzie Gore faces New York Mets left-hander Sean Manaea at 7:05 p.m. CT Tuesday at Globe Life Field. The Rangers close the regular season with three games at the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25-27.
