ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers placed Jack Leiter on the 15-day injured list Sunday with an ankle issue the right-hander has been battling most of the season, and star shortstop Corey Seager still isn't ready to return from a concussion.
The Rangers recalled right-hander Jose Corniell from Triple-A Round Rock but didn't say how they would fill Leiter's spot in the rotation Tuesday at Miami. Six of Corniell's seven minor league appearances were starts.
President of baseball operations Chris Young said Leiter was trying to pitch through what is being called right ankle posterior impingement, but his mechanics were affected by compensating for the injury.
Leiter lost all three of his June starts and had a 9.88 ERA, capped by allowing seven hits and six runs in four innings in a 9-3 loss to Minnesota on Thursday. He is 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA in 15 starts this season.
“Jack has not made it an issue. That speaks to his level of competitiveness,” Young said. “He’s not made excuses, but the reality is he’s having to change his delivery to compensate for it. We cannot put him in harm’s way. He's too important to our future.”
Young said the 26-year-old Leiter was already dealing with the balky ankle when he aggravated the injury by slipping on an on-deck circle in his fifth start of the season April 22 at home against the New York Yankees. Young said imaging showed the injury was getting worse.
“We’ve been trying to monitor it as best we could,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “But the reality is he just wasn’t able to do what he was capable of doing throughout the starts. I think it started showing up more and more. It wasn’t fair to him that we kept sending him out there.”
Seager was eligible to return from the seven-day concussion list Friday, but Young said he was still in the protocol. He was participating in meetings and running on the field before the game.
Schumaker said the two-time World Series MVP would be on the upcoming 10-game road trip with stops in Miami, Toronto and Cleveland, but couldn't say when Seager would play.
“It's still day to day,” Schumaker said. “I’m trying to make sure that he feels good after this kind of stimulation and inside the weight room, hitting and then running.”
Seager was in the worst slump of his career when he took a few days off in mid-May and ended up with a sore back that extended his absence to 19 games. The five-time All-Star is hitting .186 with nine homers and 24 RBIs.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Kansas City Royals' Kameron Misner (26) is out at second base as Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, right, throws to first base for a double play during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
ATLANTA (AP) — Welcome to the World Cup, Lamine Yamal. Welcome to the World Cup, Spain.
Teenage superstar Yamal scored 10 minutes into his first start on soccer’s biggest stage and Spain kickstarted its campaign with the 4-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The 18-year-old forward slid in at the far post to touch home a low cross for the opening goal in Atlanta. He became the eighth youngest scorer in World Cup history and more importantly settled Spanish nerves after the team was held to a surprise 0-0 draw by Cape Verde in its opening game.
In a tournament that has already seen Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane get off to flying starts, Yamal's strike saw him join the party.
The Barcelona winger is already considered one the world’s top players and helped Spain win the European Championship in 2024 despite being just 16 years old when the tournament started. He is tipped to take over from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the sport’s biggest star but came into the World Cup with questions over his fitness after he missed the end of the season with a hamstring injury.
Yamal, who was only used as a second-half substitute against Cape Verde, was thrown in from the start against Saudi Arabia and wasted no time in making his presence felt.
He had already repeatedly sliced through the Saudi defense before turning home Mikel Oyarzabal's cross.
A full house at Atlanta Stadium was mainly filled with Spain fans who had roared in celebration just at the sight of Yamal emerging for the pre-game warm up. And the cheers were even louder as he raced away to celebrate his goal, dropping to his knees, praying and kissing the turf.
It was just the impact Spain coach Luis de la Fuente wanted from his star player, having been inundated with questions about when Yamal would be ready to start.
Those questions felt even more anxious after Spain, one of the pre-tournament favorites, was shut out by Cape Verde.
After all, Spain has failed to advance beyond the round of 16 since lifting the World Cup in 2010, winning just three games during that run.
But Yamal's opener sparked a flurry of first-half goals. Oyarzabal, who was criticized for not touching the ball at all in the first 30 minutes against Cape Verde, not only provided the assist for Yamal, but scored two more with close range strikes in the 21st and 24th.
So dominant was Spain's lead that De la Fuente had seen enough and took both his scorers off at halftime.
Inside four minutes of the second half, the lead was extended when Marc Cucurella's shot rebounded off Hassan Altambakti for an own goal.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S.Lesser)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Saudi Arabia during the World Cup Group H soccer match in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S.Lesser)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S.Lesser)
