It took a little more than a week for outfielder Alejandro Osuna to return to the Majors.
The Texas Rangers announced on Sunday that they recalled the outfielder from Triple-A Round Rock. At the same time, Texas placed outfielder Michael Helman on the 10-day injured list.
It's the second straight day Texas has placed an outfielder on the IL. On Saturday, the Rangers placed Evan Carter on the 10-day IL with oblique tightness and recalled infielder Cody Freeman from Round Rock.
Texas Rangers center fielder Michael Helman. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
When the Rangers activated outfielder Wyatt Langford and infielder Corey Seager last week, Osuna was one of the players optioned out to the minor leagues. The reasoning at the time was that he was going to get more at-bat in the minors than he would with Seager and Langford healthy.
It wasn't about performance. Even though the left-handed hitting Osuna doesn't slug that much, he was an on-base monster for Texas during his time with the club in May. When he was optioned, he was slashing .253/.376/.275 with nine RBI.
At the same time, the Rangers kept Helman for defensive purposes, per manager Skip Schumaker. With Helman out, Osuna figures to get reps at all three outfield positions against right-handed pitching.
Schumaker even hinted there was a chance Osuna might return after this road trip, given that Texas has one off day left until July. With Helman's injury, Texas had no choice but to recall him.
Helman was in the hand by a pitch during Saturday's game and removed after the inning ended. Post-game, Schumaker said that X-rays found "multiple fractures" in the hand and that more testing was coming on Sunday. But he all but said that Helman was heading to the injured list.
Helman slashed .167/.235/.300 with one home run and two RBI after he was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. Helman failed to make the opening day roster coming out of spring training and was promoted on May 18.
Helman joined the Rangers last season after he was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates . He gave them a brief jolt last summer, as he played in 38 games and slashed .232/.290/.455 with five home runs and 20 RBI. One of those home runs was the Rangers' only grand slam of 2025.
Texas returns to Arlington after Sunday's game over the Red Sox and will host the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series that starts on Monday.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Rangers Recall Alejandro Osuna from Minors, Place Michael Helman on IL .
