Two years after the skull fracture, Tyler Zombro reportedly signs with Rangers

Nearly two years after suffering one of the scariest injuries in recent baseball history, Tyler Zombro has found a new baseball home.

According to multiple reports, Zombro agreed on a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on Saturday. Zombro will report to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.

The 28-year-old’s baseball career was sidelined nearly two years ago until the day he agreed to a deal with the Rangers. It was June 3, 2021 when Zombro, while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, the Durham Bulls, was hit in the head by a line drive that was hit by the batter he faced.

Zombro fell face down and immediately lost consciousness. The line drive, traveling at 104 mph, caused Zombro to have a seizure and he fractured his skull. When he underwent surgery, Zombro received 16 titanium plates and 36 screws to help repair the bone and reduce bleeding in his brain.

Zombro ended up spending five days in intensive care and an additional two days at Duke University Hospital before being discharged on June 9. Zombro underwent physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy before a CT scan in December of that year showed he was completely cured, allowing him to return to baseball.

After missing the rest of the 2021 season, Zombro returned to the mound in 2022, but it didn’t last long. He made two appearances with Triple-A Durham in April 2022, giving up three earned runs on five hits in two innings pitched before being sidelined for several weeks. He eventually underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in June 2022, ending his season.

The Rays kept Zombro in their organization during the offseason, but released him at the end of spring training.

Zombro, who began his professional career with the Rays in 2017 as an undrafted free agent, has yet to pitch at the major league level. He also hasn’t been able to pitch much in recent seasons due to his injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the 2020 minor league season.

But Zombro has pitched well when given the opportunity for much of his minor league career. The right-handed reliever is 11-4 with a 2.91 ERA, 144 strikeouts and 28 walks in 179 ⅓ innings, over 99 appearances in five seasons.

Despite a 27-17 record that puts them in first place in the AL West coming into Saturday, the Rangers have had some bullpen trouble this season. They have the seventh-worst bullpen ERA in the majors this season, but it has the worst ERA in baseball (6.98 ERA) since April 24.