THE APEX TIMES
Rangers activate Jordan Montgomery from the 60-day injured list, opening a spot by designating Nolan Kingham for assignment
Dallas adds left-hander Jordan Montgomery back to its active rotation plans as the team begins a key interleague series at Globe Life Field against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Texas Rangers made a roster adjustment ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field, activating left-hander Jordan Montgomery from the 60-day injured list.
Montgomery’s return is tied to a rehabilitation process that the Rangers said included eight Minor League starts on rehab assignments at Double-A. Those outings were part of his path back to the Major League roster after being sidelined for an extended period.
To create a roster opening, the Rangers designated right-hander Nolan Kingham for assignment. A designation for assignment is the first step a team uses when it needs to remove a player from the 40-man roster; the organization then has options such as trading the player, releasing him, or, if eligible and if the team chooses, outrighting him after the waiver period.
Montgomery, 33, comes back into a Rangers rotation picture that has to balance availability, workload, and the practical reality of a long season in August. With the activation, Texas effectively indicates that it wants a veteran presence with a recent run of live innings, rather than waiting further for a longer build-up.
The timing is notable. An early August series at home against a team like Baltimore can carry extra weight for lineup planning and bullpen management because starters who go deeper change the leverage math for relievers over multiple games.
Montgomery’s Double-A rehab starts were the most concrete indicator the Rangers provided about readiness. Even so, teams often manage returning pitchers carefully in their first Major League appearances after a long IL stint, watching for pitch count, recovery between starts, and how hitters respond at the top of the lineup.
As the Rangers prepare for the Orioles, the immediate question is how quickly Montgomery slides into the rotation’s near-term plan and what that means for the rest of Dallas’s pitching staff. The second question is what happens to Kingham after the designation for assignment, since the subsequent waiver and roster decisions will determine who the Rangers keep on the active depth chart.
Why It Matters
- Montgomery’s return affects the Rangers’ pitching availability for the August portion of the schedule, when rotation stability can influence outcomes over consecutive series.
- A DFA for Kingham changes the Rangers’ organizational depth picture, with the possibility that he could be traded, released, or removed from the 40-man roster after waivers.
- Because starters control the rhythm of bullpen usage, Montgomery’s activation can have knock-on effects for how Dallas staffs leverage roles in the Orioles series.
- The sequence also gives a clearer view of Texas’s priorities, with the team choosing to activate a veteran after a Double-A rehab stretch rather than extending his absence further.
Key Facts
- The Rangers activated left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery from the 60-day injured list ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field.
- The Rangers said Montgomery made eight Minor League starts on rehabilitation assignments at Double-A.
- The Rangers designated right-handed pitcher Nolan Kingham for assignment to make room for Montgomery on the roster.
- The transactions were announced by the Rangers prior to the Orioles series opener.