Texas Rangers center fielder Evan Carter underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right hip last week to repair a labral injury and hip impingement, the team announced Monday. The procedure, performed by Dr. William J. Robertson in Arlington, puts Carter’s availability for Opening Day 2027 in doubt and has already pushed the Rangers to look at outside options in center field, according to MLB.com.
Carter dealt with discomfort that lingered from the end of the 2026 season into the offseason. He consulted two specialists before deciding on surgery. Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said the hip issue may have affected Carter throughout the year even though it was not previously disclosed as a chronic problem.
“I do believe, in light of what we’ve learned in this diagnosis for Evan, that it probably impacted him to some degree over the course of the season,” Young said.
Carter’s Designation And Recovery Outlook
The Rangers have not placed a specific return date on Carter’s recovery. Young said team doctors anticipate a full recovery and that Carter should be able to play a sizable chunk of the 2027 season, but he will not be ready when the season begins. No further medical timeline has been given beyond that expectation.
Young acknowledged the uncertainty directly. “There’s no doubt that we have to be cognizant that Evan’s coming off a major surgery, and that we’re going to have to find potential backfills if he is not ready to start the season, or if there are any setbacks,” he said.
Center Field Options While Carter Recovers
Texas is exploring the free-agent center-field market as a contingency, with Fort Worth-area native Trent Grisham among the names the club has looked at, per MLB.com. The Rangers are also weighing an internal move that would shift Wyatt Langford to center field and backfill left field, though Young has not committed to that plan. No other free-agent targets have been named publicly.
2026 Season
Carter’s recovery timeline matters because of the role he carved out in 2026. He played a career-high 141 games and finished as a Gold Glove Award finalist, underscoring his defensive value in center. Offensively, he hit .194/.288/.315 with nine home runs, 47 walks and 114 strikeouts. His lone injured-list stint of the season came in mid-June with a right oblique strain, separate from the hip issue that ultimately required surgery.
What’s Next For Texas
The Rangers have not announced a timetable for when Carter will resume baseball activities or when the next health update will come. Texas enters the offseason needing to settle its center-field alignment before spring training, with Grisham’s market and the Langford contingency plan as the two options on the table for now.
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