Texas Rangers pitcher Carter Baumler was told by manager Skip Schumaker during a mound visit that he had made the team's opening day major league roster in an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals on Monday at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
Baumler relieved MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning, did not allow a run and recorded one strikeout. Schumaker visited the mound after Baumler satisfied Major League Baseball's three-batter minimum rule before a pitcher can be removed.[1]
Schumaker gathered the infielders around Baumler to deliver the news. "I turned around, I saw him, I was just caught off guard and didn’t know what was going to happen. And then he told me that, and it was just a really cool moment. I’m definitely not going to forget that," Baumler said postgame.[1]
Baumler, yet to make his major league debut, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft ahead of the 2026 season and acquired by the Rangers via trade in the offseason. Rule 5 draftees must remain on their new team's active major league roster for the full season or be offered back to their original organization.[2]
Surprise Stadium serves as the spring training facility for the Rangers and Royals.[3]
Sources
- MLB.com
Texas Rangers match centre / Carter Baumler postgame comments
Accessed March 2026
https://www.mlb.com/rangers - MLB.com
Rule 5 Draft glossary
Accessed March 2026
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/rule-5-draft - MLB.com
Spring Training ballparks - Surprise Stadium
Accessed March 2026
https://www.mlb.com/spring-training/ballpark/surprise
