Young not optimistic about Carter's return this season

ST. LOUIS -- The Rangers were hoping to get a slew of internal additions back around the Trade Deadline. Josh Jung and Cody Bradford are already back. Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom are well on their way.

But one return that they’re not counting on is rookie outfielder Evan Carter. Rangers general manager Chris Young said via Zoom on Tuesday prior to Texas' 8-1 loss to the Cardinals that he's not optimistic about Carter's return this season.

“Evan’s back continues to give him a little bit of trouble when he ramps up his hitting progression,” Young said. “We've seen multiple specialists in the past week and determined that Evan is going to need a more lengthy time period to rest his back without rotational activity. It’s just going to take some more time and we want to protect him. He's a huge part of our future.”

The 21-year-old has been on the injured list since May 28 with a back injury, and they’ve tried to ramp him up multiple times to no avail. A return looked possible when he rejoined the club after the All-Star break and ramped up baseball activities, but Carter hasn’t felt healthy enough for a rehab stint, which prompted the most recent shutdown.

Carter left to see a back specialist in California over the weekend showing he would need more rest.

“I haven't talked to him since he left us, but he was really excited because he looked like he was on his way,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “And now he has this setback. There's no question he's gotta be frustrated with this becoming doubtful that he can help us at this point this year. Is that a possibility? Yeah, but with where he's at, I feel pretty good [that he won't]. What’s more important is that it is a year of development. Just getting out here, playing, getting the reps, facing Major League pitching. I think it is difficult for all of us, him especially.”

Carter entered 2024 as the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, after making his MLB debut on Sept. 8, 2023. He was a breakout star on the biggest stage in ’23, hitting .306 with a 1.058 OPS in 23 regular-season games before appearing in all 17 games of the Rangers’ World Series run. Carter hit .300 with a .917 OPS in the postseason.

But this isn’t the first time Carter has dealt with a back injury either, despite being just 21 years old.

He played only 32 games with Single-A Down East during his professional debut in 2021 due to a stress fracture in his back, though he slashed .236/.438/.387 in a small sample that season.

“It's the same injury,” Carter said during the last homestand. “Exactly the same thing. … Except instead of fighting through it like an 18-year-old in Single-A versus a 21-year-old facing All-Star pitchers in the big leagues -- you can't really fly through quite as long. Obviously, you kind of get it exposed very quickly whenever you're not up to par with how you should feel and how you want to play.”

That being said, Young is confident that this injury will not hinder Carter in the long term. The doctors believe that he just needs time to let it rest and heal at the moment.

“Bodies heal differently,” Young said. “We try to predict timelines, and sometimes we beat those timelines. Sometimes we don't. He needs a little bit further, more extensive time to rest this and let it heal, at which point the doctors are very confident. We've got to step back and give him the time that he deserves, that he needs and it'll be fine moving forward.”