Early on in the 2024 season, it looked like young Texas Rangers starter Cody Bradford had a special season in the works.

After being a strong presence out of the bullpen during the previous year’s World Series run, Bradford was off to an electric start as a starter.

The DFW native had allowed just three earned runs in his first 19.1 innings pitched, earning wins in each of those three starts.

However, just when things started to look up, Bradford went down with an injury and wouldn’t pitch again until the end of July.

Despite a small sample size, Bradford posted a strong 3.54 ERA in just 76.1 innings through the season.

Heading into the offseason, the Rangers felt like 2025 could be Bradford’s breakout year after what they had witnessed a season prior.

Unfortunately, the injury bug struck once again as it was announced that Bradford would miss the start of the season with an elbow issue.

Upon getting ready to ramp up to return in 2025, the Rangers found out that Bradford’s elbow injury was worse than they had initially thought, and he would need to miss the remainder of the season.

As 2026 begins, Bradford won’t be ramping up in the way that his fellow starters are, as he figures to miss at least the first month of the year.

While the rest of the starting staff heads to Arlington, Texas, to begin the year, Bradford will head on a rehab assignment.

However, when Bradford does get back into the fold, he could be a huge boost for an already strong Ranger rotation.

With Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi at the top and young starters MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter behind, Bradford could certainly slide in as a very solid fifth starter if his services are needed in that role.

In the event that someone like Jacob Latz or Kumar Rocker wins the position and has a strong start to the year, we know that Bradford can be just as effective out of the bullpen.

One of the big storylines to watch for in May, when Bradford does eventually return as what shape the Rangers' pitching staff is in, as that could be a determining factor in his role.

Pitchers and catchers are set to report in just under ten days, as the Rangers will hope everything is clean for Bradford on the health side before they ramp him up for 2026.

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