Cody

Freeman

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker told reporters Freeman will be shut down for at least the next month before resuming baseball activities. The versatile 25-year-old got into 36 games for Texas as a rookie last year and was in line to open the season in a bench role. His absence makes it much easier for someone like Sam Haggerty or Michael Helman to secure a spot on the club’s season-opening roster.

Freeman led off the third inning with a walk and stole second for his first steal of the season. His next time up, he took Colton Gordon deep for a solo blast. The 24-year-old infielder has taken over everyday playing time at second base in the absence of Marcus Semien (foot). He’s hitting .229/.252/.386 with three homers and 11 RBI across 88 plate appearances.

Freeman probably should have struck out against Jake Woodford’s assortment of sliders in the ninth, but he got the benefit of the doubt on one which seemed to have caught the corner. He later went down and hit a shot to the opposite field on a slider he had to know was coming, tying the game. The Rangers went on to take a lead on Alejandro Osuna’s liner of Juan Burgos in the 10th. Freeman’s homer in the third was his second since being called up. He’s batting .225/.238/.425 through 42 plate appearances.

Freeman was 3-for-25 in nine games before taking Logan Allen deep in his first at-bat tonight. He later singled and hit a hard liner to left that Steven Kwan had to make a nice jumping catch on. Freeman started at second base tonight after playing third on Thursday and right field on Wednesday. He should remain a frequent lineup presence while Marcus Semien is on the IL.

Freeman heads back to the majors to replace an injured Sam Haggerty (ankle) on the Rangers’ bench. The 24-year-old offers plenty of defensive versatility, but he’s batted .143 (1-for-7) with one RBI in four games at the highest level this season.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Higashioka is available to pinch-hit, but the 35-year-old backstop remains out of the lineup for the fourth consecutive game as he works his way back from a mild hamstring strain that he suffered earlier this week. It’ll be Jonah Heim continuing to handle the catching duties with Cody Freeman serving as the emergency backup.

No surprise here as the Rangers are trying to give Higashioka as much time as possible to recover from a low-grade hamstring strain. It doesn’t sound like he’ll require a trip to the injured list at this juncture. Jonah Heim will continue handling the catching duties with Cody Freeman as the emergency backup.

With Sam Haggerty returning from the injured list on Friday someone on the Rangers’ bench had to get the boot and it looks like Freeman drew the short straw this time around. The 24-year-old infielder went 1-for-7 (.143) with one RBI and a 2/0 K/BB ratio in his limited action with the Rangers.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday that they’re going to give Higashioka a chance to avoid the injured list, but he’s not going to be available for at least a couple days. It’ll be rookie Cody Freeman pressed into emergency duty, if necessary. The positive news here is that it’s a relatively mild strain.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 24-year-old infielder. Freeman, a fourth-round selection by the Rangers from the 2019 draft class, had been hitting a blistering .315/.367/.494 with 12 homers, 54 RBI, eight stolen bases and a 31/28 K/BB ratio over 350 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. It’ll be interesting to see how much playing time he’s able to carve out with the Rangers or if he’s simply relegated to a bench role. He is not in the lineup for Friday night’s battle against the Tigers.