Evan Carter being promoted, Adolis Garcia to i.l.

The Texas Rangers are calling up wunderkind prospect Evan Carter, per the beats. Carter will be taking the place of Adolis Garcia, who is going on the injured list with a strained patellar tendon.

Garcia going to the injured list is bad news, though not surprising, based on what we saw last night, when Garcia had to leave the game after landing badly from his leap to try to rob a home run in the third inning against the Houston Astros. The good news is that an MRI showed it was just a strain, not a rupture, and Garcia could still return this season.

In the meantime, Garcia’s absence opens the door for the major league debut of Evan Carter. Carter, a consensus top 15-20 prospect in all of MLB, has put up a .288/.413/.450 slash line this season in 108 games, mostly in AA. He earned a promotion to AAA Round Rock in late August, and was on the radar as a possible major league option even before the Garcia injury.

A second round pick in 2020, Carter, who turned 21 less than two weeks ago, is a lefthanded hitter who is considered a quality defender in either center field or left field. He has struggled against lefties this season — he has a 663 OPS against them this year, compared to a 911 OPS against righties — so he may be platooned for the time being.

Carter will have to be added to the 40 man roster, and the official move is reportedly going to be announced tomorrow. He would not have been Rule 5 eligible until after 2024, so his going on the 40 man roster now gives the Rangers one less roster spot to play with this offseason, but he was going to be in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster next year anyway. Losing a roster spot because you’re adding a guy who is ready to contribute before he’s Rule 5 eligible is a good problem to have.