Saturday, August 02

BOSTON -- Playing baseball is fun, no matter where you’re at, according to Evan Carter. 

So if he spent the last month with Triple-A Round Rock constantly thinking about trying to get back to the big leagues, he felt it was never truly going to happen.

“At the end of the day, though, this is where I want to be,” Carter said on Tuesday at Fenway Park. “I want to be competing here and helping the team win here. Everything that I've done is about trying to be able to get back here and help the team win. I'm doing everything that I can do to be the best version of myself every day, and that's all I can control.”

Carter, who was one of baseball’s most exciting prospects in 2023 and entering ‘24, opened this season with Triple-A Round Rock as his scuffles at the plate persisted throughout Spring Training. 

In 2024 -- coming off an electric Rangers postseason run the previous year -- Carter played just 45 games, slashing .188/.272/.361. A stress reaction in his back landed him on the injured list on May 28. After multiple attempts to ramp him back up, he was officially shut down for the year in August.

Carter had an ablation procedure performed on his back this offseason, and he felt like he entered camp healthy. But he still never looked quite right. In 15 Cactus League games, he hit .154 (6-for-39) with a .419 OPS. He never looked comfortable at the plate, noting that the spring, in his own words, “sucked.” 

But over the last month in Round Rock, Carter made some swing changes that eased the pressure on his back, resulting in him hitting the ball better than he has in years. 

Carter has hit .221/.333/.416 in 21 games for the Express this year, but each of his seven extra-base hits (three home runs, two triples, two doubles) have come in his last 14 games. In that span, since April 10, Carter has reached safely in 12 of those 14 contests, hitting at a .288 average and a .577 slugging percentage, the latter of which is the 11th-highest in the Pacific Coast League during that span. And he made an immediate impact in his first game back in the Rangers' lineup, going 2-for-5 with a run scored to help in Texas’ 6-1 victory over the Red Sox Tuesday night.

“This is the best I have felt in a while,” Carter said. “It actually doesn’t hurt to swing anymore. I feel free, and it doesn’t feel like I am getting stabbed in the back every time I try to swing. … I feel great right now, I’m really excited with where I’m at.”

Physically he’s better than ever. But mentally, he’s also in a great spot at this point of the season. 

“As much as you don't want to admit it, obviously missing a whole year sucks,” Carter said. “You can tell yourself that you're ready and confident, but when you step in the box it feels foreign to you. Having actual game action, playing every day, being around your guys and being on an actual baseball field, it's a little bit different. I'm really happy, confidence wise, with where I'm at.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said that Carter will now get the majority of playing time in center field after Leody Taveras was placed on waivers on Monday. Veteran Kevin Pillar and utilityman Josh Smith could also get reps at the position, particularly against left-handed pitchers, but Bochy made it clear Carter is going to get a lot of runway. 

“He's ready. He's healthy,” Bochy said. “He's been going out there on a consistent basis. He's swinging the bat well. That's all we were waiting for. I thought even before Spring Training that he was going to need this. 

“He was going to need some time. He missed so many at-bats last year, so he needed at least a month down there to get him back into the flow of playing every day and getting his timing down, but also getting healthy. More than anything, we feel he's ready now.”

The Rangers announced on Monday that they hired Bret Boone as their new hitting coach following the dismissal of offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker. 

He will join the offensive staff with hitting coach Justin Viele and assistant hitting coach Seth Conner, both of whom will remain with the organization. Boone’s deal will run through the end of the 2025 season, at which point all parties will be re-evaluated.

Boone is the older brother of current Yankees manager Aaron Boone and the son of former Major League player and manager Bob Boone. Bret was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner at second base from 1992-2005. He hit above .300 in two seasons (.320 in 1994 and .331 in 2001) and finished his career with a .266 average and 252 home runs.

Boone previously served as a roving instructor and scout in the Athletics organization from 2014-15, but he has no big league coaching experience.

“He's well connected to the game, and he spent his whole life in the game, so I'm not overly worried about that,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “In terms of the coaching experience, there's going to be a learning curve, but I think we have great coaches to support him in some ways that he's going to need. Likewise, I think he will provide some wisdom and some experience that will serve our entire staff, and certainly our players.”

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