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Usually, if a manager comes to visit a pitcher in the middle of his outing, it’s to give him some kind of bad news.
Fortunately, for Carter Baumler on Monday night, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker had something worth talking about.
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Pitcher Carter Baumler #68 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic exhibition game against Team Brazil at Surprise Stadium on March 4, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Baumler came into the Rangers’ exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals in relief of MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning. He did not allow a run and struck out a batter. But Schumaker made his appearance on the mound even after Baumler failed to meet the three-batter requirement before he was allowed to be removed from the game.
Schumaker gathered the infield around him and told him that he had made the major league roster to start the season. Baumler was beaming when the group broke up.
“Someone said, ‘I wish I had a picture of you when you turned around and saw it,'” he said after the game, via MLB.com. “Most of the time you see the coach come out and you’re like, ‘Okay, you’re out of the game.’
THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPION REMEMBERS THE TERRIFYING INCIDENT THAT NEARLY DROWNED IN MINNESOTA
Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker (55) reviews his lineup card during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on Feb. 20, 2026. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)
“I turned around, I saw him, it took me by surprise and I didn’t know what was going to happen. And then he told me that and it was a really cool moment. I’m definitely not going to forget that.”
Baumler said he thought he was going to be taken out of the game. He had no idea that Schumaker was going to tell him he had been part of the team.
The Pittsburgh Pirates initially selected Baumler in the Rule 5 Draft before the Rangers traded him in the offseason. Because he was a Rule 5 pick, it meant the Rangers would have had to keep him on the roster for the entire season if they had decided to put him on the opening day roster.
Once the decision was made, Schumaker was able to deliver the good news.
Texas Rangers pitcher Carter Baumler during media day at Surprise Sports Complex on February 17, 2026. (Arianna Grainey/Image Images)
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Baumler has yet to make his major league debut. The Baltimore Orioles originally selected him in the fifth round in 2020. He spent time in Baltimore’s farm system before moving teams after the 2025 season.
