The Rangers could bring Leiter (ankle) back from the 60-day injured list during the upcoming week if Jacob deGrom (triceps) is unavailable to make his next scheduled start Wednesday versus the Nationals, Theo DeRosa of MLB.com reports.
Imaging on deGrom's injured right triceps confirmed revealed nothing concerning, but the right-hander's availability for his next turn through the rotation is still in doubt. Leiter -- who has been on the shelf June 21 while recovering from surgery to remove a loose body from his right ankle -- was able to make his first rehab start this past Thursday for Triple-A Round Rock, during which he covered 2.2 scoreless innings and 48 pitches. The Rangers had initially placed for Leiter to make at least one more rehab start and build up his pitch count before coming back from the IL, but the banged-up state of the big-league rotation -- both deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) are recovering from injuries -- could accelerate Leiter's timeline to return.