Jose Corniell: Everything you need to know

Corniell (arm) gave up two hits and walked three while striking out four across 3.1 scoreless innings during Friday's game against Triple-A Durham. Corniell was cleared to make his 2026 debut after missing time with arm trouble. He looked a bit rusty in his first appearance of the season, but he managed to navigate around traffic on the bases for a decent first outing. Corniell will set his sights on staying healthy after also missing action over the last two seasons while recovering from UCL surgery.

Corniell remains unavailable to pitch as he goes through a "dead arm" phase, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports. Corniell missed nearly all of spring training and it's unclear when he might be ready to pitch in games. The 22-year-old is likely to be part of the rotation at Double-A Frisco once he's physically ready. Corniell missed all of 2024 and much of 2025 while recovering from UCL surgery, so he needs to make up for lost time.

The Rangers optioned Corniell (triceps/back) to Double-A Frisco on Sunday. Though he was able to make his big-league debut late last season, Corniell will end up dropping back down to the Double-A level to begin the 2026 campaign after back and triceps injuries prevented him from gaining much momentum this spring in his bid for a spot in the Rangers' Opening Day bullpen. Corniell at least appears to be heading into the season healthy; he made his Cactus League debut Friday, issuing one walk and allowing no hits over a scoreless inning of relief.