“I saw it coming, and I’m ready,” Freeman said. “I’m ready for the challenge.” Last year in Double-A, Freeman said he dealt with the same situation. One of the catchers went down and he had to catch a bullpen the next day to be ready. The last time he caught in a game was 2023.

Cody Freeman and Michael Helman had big-league firsts on consecutive pitches for the Texas Rangers. Freeman lined a tiebreaking RBI double into the right-center gap for his first big league hit in the fifth inning for the Rangers against the Athletics on Monday night.

Cody Freeman’s first day as a Major League player started at a casino in Las Vegas, and if that sounds surreal, he feels the same energy.

Freeman, 24, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. The younger brother of Tyler Freeman of the Rockies, Cody was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2019. Offensively, the younger Freeman provides a contact-forward approach. He has stepped to the plate 2,150 times in the minors with a 15.7% strikeout rate.

If that wasn’t enough baseball-style humor, there was Michael Helman — recalled just today in place of the scuffling Alejandro Osuna — finishing off the four-run fifth inning with his first ever big league home run in the same frame as Freeman’s first hit.

Freeman started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Tigers.

Cody Freeman collects his first MLB hit and RBI with one swing, an RBI double, making it 2-1 Rangers in the bottom of the 5th inning

Cody Freeman and Michael Helman had big league firsts on consecutive pitches for the Rangers after Josh Jung homered in his first at-bat back in the majors Monday night against the A's.