When Cody Bradford Returns To Texas Rangers — He's Very Close — It Could Be As Reliever

The Texas Rangers left-hander who has been out since mid-April with a rib fracture, is scheduled to throw again on Tuesday.

Stefan Stevenson/Texas Rangers On SI

FRISCO — Cody Bradford came out of the bullpen Friday night to throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for Double-A Frisco.

The left-hander from Aledo High School who was off to such a great start (3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in three starts) before an injury derailed his season could be an option out of the bullpen when he returns to the Texas Rangers roster.

Bradford made eight starts and used out of the bullpen 12 times in 2023. In five relief appearances during the 2023 postseason, Bradford was 1-0 with a 1 .17 ERA and five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

"The big thing today was just kind of shifting back into the bullpen role and making sure timing my pregame was was where it needed to be," said Bradford, who allowed a hit, no walks and had two strikeouts over 34 pitches, including 20 strikes on Friday. "I was pretty gassed. I didn't give myself enough time between warmups in that first inning, so I can make a couple adjustments there but overall, I felt strong today. My back feels really good. I feel healthy."

Cody Bradford after 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Frisco on Friday ... pic.twitter.com/WOgygHAv6u

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When Bradford, 26, was placed on the injured list with a lower back strain on April 14, it was unclear to everyone that he'd miss the next three months. Further imaging revealed a stress fractured in his ribcage.

"It was surprising, but it was a huge relief because the first week we thought it was tight back muscles," he said. "Two days went by and it didn't get better. Three days went by, a week went by and it didn't get better. I got a shot and it still didn't get better. I know I'm not crazy. So they took an extra look at it and got some more imaging done. it's always a relief to have answers."

The Rangers might prefer to have Bradford work out of the bullpen the final two months of the season. That way, he can continue to slowly build up strength as a valuable left-handed arm out of the pen. He could eventually work back up to a long relief option or perhaps back to starter if the Rangers return to the postseason.


"I feel ready that I could go get major league hitters out right now, but as for my role, and what's best for the team, I don't think it would be necessarily useful for me to go out and get one out," he said. "So I'll leave that to the team. I just want to serve them well and serve this organization."

Bradford said there hasn't been much conversation on how the club might use him, but he's "ready for anything."

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