Cody Bradford will make his long-awaited return to the Texas Rangers’ rotation on Wednesday, marking his first major league start since the close of the 2024 season after recovering from elbow surgery.
Following Tuesday night’s 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker confirmed that Bradford will take the mound in Wednesday’s series finale rather than make another rehabilitation appearance.
Bradford played a key role in Texas’ 2023 World Series championship during his rookie campaign, posting a 1-0 record with a remarkable 1.17 ERA across five postseason relief outings. During the regular season that year, he finished 4-3 with a 5.30 ERA over 20 appearances, including eight starts.
His return comes at a crucial time for Texas, which ended a season-high six-game losing streak on Tuesday after falling out of first place in the American League West. The Rangers also stood pat at Monday’s trade deadline, opting not to acquire another starting pitcher.
Texas is also eagerly awaiting the return of veteran left-hander Jordan Montgomery, another integral member of the club’s 2023 championship run. Montgomery rejoined the Rangers as a free agent this spring while continuing his recovery from a second elbow reconstruction procedure.
Bradford enjoyed a strong 2024 campaign, going 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA while starting 13 of his 14 appearances. He entered spring training the following year as a projected member of the starting rotation before persistent elbow discomfort ultimately resulted in internal brace surgery in June 2025.
His rehabilitation encountered another obstacle when elbow tightness forced the Rangers to shut him down for three weeks after his first Triple-A outing on April 2. Bradford didn’t return to game action for nearly three months, but looked dominant upon his comeback, allowing just one run while striking out 16 batters and issuing only two walks across nine innings in four minor league starts during July.
Montgomery has also made encouraging progress. The 33-year-old tossed five scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday and has surrendered just one run over his last 9 1/3 innings across two rehab starts. Since beginning his rehab assignment in mid-June, he has made eight appearances in the minors.
Originally acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2023 trade deadline, Montgomery immediately bolstered the Rangers’ rotation, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular-season starts. He was equally valuable in the postseason, winning two American League Championship Series games, including a critical 2 1/3-inning relief appearance in the decisive Game 7 against Houston. Overall, he finished the 2023 playoffs with a 3-1 record in six appearances, with his lone defeat coming in Game 2 of the World Series against Arizona.
Montgomery departed in free agency after the championship season, eventually signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks late the following spring. He struggled through 2024, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2025 season.
Across eight major league seasons with the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, and Arizona Diamondbacks, Montgomery has compiled a career record of 46-41 with a 4.03 ERA in 166 appearances, including 161 starts.