Justin

Foscue

Some were hoping the Rangers might make Teodo their closer, but while that could be the long-term plan, it’s obviously not happening on Opening Day. Fellow rookie Marc Church is still around and could be part of the late-game mix with Chris Martin. It hasn’t yet been said whether Teodo will remain a starter in the minors for now.

The Rangers have playing time open for Foscue, but he just hasn’t done anything to earn it while going 2-for-38 with 16 strikeouts as a major leaguer. It looks like he’ll open a third season at Triple-A Round Rock in 2025, assuming that he isn’t traded first.

Foscue got the call to return to the big leagues earlier this weekend after veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman was claimed off waivers by the Royals. The 25-year-old former first-round pick, who has missed most of the year due to an oblique injury, has gone 2-for-19 at the dish in seven contests at the big league level.

Foscue got five starts in nine days with the Rangers, but he was just 1-for-17 with seven strikeouts. He might get another look later if someone gets hurt; the jury is still out on whether he’ll be a major league regular, but he should at least hold his own offensively if given an extended chance.

It looks like Justin Foscue is already falling out of favor; after going 1-for-13 in his first four games with the Rangers, he’s on the bench for a second straight game today. That opened a spot for Grossman, who typically only plays versus lefties. He’s hit .164/.279/.206 in 86 plate appearances against righties this season.

The 25-year-old has seen regular action at designated hitter since joining the Rangers on Saturday, but he’ll get a breather on Wednesday after starting each of the team’s last four ballgames. Travis Jankowski will serve as the Rangers’ designated hitter on Wednesday evening and will bat eighth against Chris Flexen and the White Sox.

Foscue is at designated hitter and batting eighth for Saturday’s showdown against the Orioles at Globe Life Field. It’ll be his first appearance back in the big league since early April when he suffered an oblique strain that kept him on the shelf until late June.

Foscue, who missed nearly two months early this season with a strained oblique, has hit .289/.492/.489 in 15 games since rejoining Round Rock, first on a rehab assignment and now as a member of their roster. In spite of Marcus Semien’s presence in Texas, the Rangers still have Foscue playing second base about half of the time. He might currently be helping the team as a DH and occasional first baseman if he didn’t miss so much time, but that path is likely going away soon, what with Josh Jung hopeful of returning after the break.

Foscue played in just two games for the Rangers in April before suffering an oblique strain. There’s no room for him on the roster now, but if he excels in Triple-A, perhaps he’ll get a look at DH or maybe even first base later.

Foscue has been on the shelf since early April recovering from a left oblique strain, but doesn’t appear too far off from helping out the Rangers again in the near future as a bench option. The 25-year-old prospect is probably going to wind up seeing most of his action at first base with veteran stalwart Marcus Semien firmly entrenched at second base and Josh Smith putting together a breakthrough campaign in a utility role.