Bradford says Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News that he will throw his first bullpen session this week. He is hopeful he can begin a minor league rehab assignment not long after the start of the regular season. That would put him in line for a return to MLB action sometime in May.
Bradford, a local product who attended Baylor, debuted in a swing role in 2023. He struggled as a rookie but showed more promise in year two. Bradford missed the first half of the ’24 season with a back injury, but pitched well after getting a rotation gig upon his return. He took the ball 14 times and posted a 3.54 earned run average with a 23% strikeout rate against a 4.2% walk rate. Bradford has always had elite command, but the solid strikeout came as more of a surprise. He sits in the 89-90 MPH range with his fastball and managed to keep hitters off balance by playing the four-seam of his 81 MPH changeup.
Bradford had a good opportunity in the rotation to open the 2025 season. He reported elbow pain while ramping up during Spring Training. Initial imaging came back clean, but he was ultimately diagnosed with UCL damage that required surgery. The internal brace does not have the same 14-16 month rehabilitation period as the full Tommy John procedure.
Texas opens the season with an excellent top three of Jacob de Grom, Nathan Eovaldi And Jack Ladder. The depth decreases sharply. Jacob Latz pitched well in a swing role last year, but has never held a rotation spot. Kumar Rocker suffered mechanical problems and spent most of the last two months of the season overhauling things in the complex. No one else on the 40-man roster has any kind of MLB starting experience.
President of baseball operations Chris Young said last week that the team is focusing on deepening its pitching before opening day. Some kind of addition seems inevitable, although there’s a good chance they’re waiting on the market in hopes of landing a fifth starter/swinger during Spring Training for a few million dollars.
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