Jack Leiter’s Ankle Surgery Opens the Door for a Late-Season Return. Maybe.

Texas Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter went under the knife Wednesday morning, and the team says he could be back before the season ends. That’s the official line, anyway.

Dr. Ned Amendola at Duke University performed an arthroscopic procedure to remove a loose body in Leiter’s ankle, according to MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. The Rangers made it clear there’s no firm timeline, but they’re hopeful he’ll pitch again in 2026. “Timeline is fluid,” Landry wrote.

A season already on thin ice

Leiter’s ankle had been bothering him for a while, and it finally forced the issue. The timing isn’t great. He’s been inconsistent all year — a 5.29 ERA over his starts, though his 83 strikeouts against 35 walks show the stuff is still there. During his breakout 2025 campaign, Leiter posted a 3.86 ERA with a 148/67 K/BB ratio across 29 starts. That version of him is the one the Rangers need down the stretch if they’re chasing a playoff spot.

But here’s the thing: nobody knows when he’ll throw a baseball again. Surgery obviously knocks him out for a while. Recovery from this kind of procedure usually involves several weeks of rest before any throwing program. Then you’ve got to build back up. It’s not a quick process.

What happens next depends on Texas

Presumably, if the Rangers are competitive in the standings come September, there’s more incentive to push Leiter toward a return. If they’re not, there’s no point rushing. The team has been careful about this. They want him fully healthy before he steps on a mound. That sounds obvious, but it’s not always how these things play out.

For now, Leiter is off the mound and stuck in recovery mode. He’ll be on crutches for a bit, then move to rehab. The Rangers rotation has managed without him before, but his upside is the kind of weapon you want for a postseason push. Whether that happens depends entirely on how fast that ankle heals.

And honestly? Even if he comes back, there’s no guarantee he picks up where he left off in 2025. Surgery recovery plus rust doesn’t mix well with big league hitting. But the Rangers have nothing to lose by seeing what they’ve got — as long as the ankle holds up.