Cody

Freeman

Freeman was with the big league club for a couple of days while Sam Haggerty was on bereavement leave, but with Corey Seager returning from the injured list on Friday he became the odd man out. Freeman was 1-for-2 with a strikeout in his limited action with the Rangers this time around.

Freeman joins the Rangers for a couple days as a bench bat while Sam Haggerty is away from the club on bereavement leave. The 25-year-old was on the shelf with a stress reaction in his back from the end of spring training until late May. He got into 36 games as a rookie last year.

Freeman had been shelved since the end of March due to a lumbar stress reaction. He had already been rehabbing at Triple-A Round Rock, so he’ll remain there in an everyday role where he’ll continue to function as extra infield depth for the Rangers.

Freeman was shut down for 4-6 weeks about five weeks ago now. There haven’t been any updates since, but if things are going as hoped, he should be playing in minor league games before long, and he could be a threat to Ezequiel Duran’s spot on the Rangers bench in a month or so.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker told reporters Freeman will be shut down for at least the next month before resuming baseball activities. The versatile 25-year-old got into 36 games for Texas as a rookie last year and was in line to open the season in a bench role. His absence makes it much easier for someone like Sam Haggerty or Michael Helman to secure a spot on the club’s season-opening roster.

Freeman led off the third inning with a walk and stole second for his first steal of the season. His next time up, he took Colton Gordon deep for a solo blast. The 24-year-old infielder has taken over everyday playing time at second base in the absence of Marcus Semien (foot). He’s hitting .229/.252/.386 with three homers and 11 RBI across 88 plate appearances.

Freeman probably should have struck out against Jake Woodford’s assortment of sliders in the ninth, but he got the benefit of the doubt on one which seemed to have caught the corner. He later went down and hit a shot to the opposite field on a slider he had to know was coming, tying the game. The Rangers went on to take a lead on Alejandro Osuna’s liner of Juan Burgos in the 10th. Freeman’s homer in the third was his second since being called up. He’s batting .225/.238/.425 through 42 plate appearances.

Freeman was 3-for-25 in nine games before taking Logan Allen deep in his first at-bat tonight. He later singled and hit a hard liner to left that Steven Kwan had to make a nice jumping catch on. Freeman started at second base tonight after playing third on Thursday and right field on Wednesday. He should remain a frequent lineup presence while Marcus Semien is on the IL.

Freeman heads back to the majors to replace an injured Sam Haggerty (ankle) on the Rangers’ bench. The 24-year-old offers plenty of defensive versatility, but he’s batted .143 (1-for-7) with one RBI in four games at the highest level this season.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Higashioka is available to pinch-hit, but the 35-year-old backstop remains out of the lineup for the fourth consecutive game as he works his way back from a mild hamstring strain that he suffered earlier this week. It’ll be Jonah Heim continuing to handle the catching duties with Cody Freeman serving as the emergency backup.