Cody Bradford has secured a spot in the Texas Rangers starting rotation, according to general manager Chris Young, but he isn’t obsessing over his role. After making his fifth Cactus League appearance on Saturday, Bradford was more concerned with a floating changeup and allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk in five innings. The left-hander from Aledo pitched better than that, but a sun ball lost by Evan Carter in center field led to a leadoff triple and a run in his fifth and final inning. “Today didn’t quite go how the rest of the spring training has gone, but up until today, I’d like to think I put myself in a good position to at least have that option [to start], but it’s out of my control,” Bradford told reporters after the outing. “Again, I’ve said it before: Whatever the team needs, I’ll fill that role.” Bradford’s changeup, which he used effectively against right-handed hitters in 2023, was less effective against the Arizona Diamondbacks’ left-hitting-heavy lineup. “Today, my changeup was really bad. I don’t think I got one out with it,” he said. “And when that happens, when it starts to float up, the righties tend to attack it. However, on the flip side, Arizona’s got some really good lefties in the lineup. I limited them to a walk and one sun ball that ended up as a triple. So I’ll take that win for sure.”
