When Cody Bradford met with the media for the first time this spring, he revealed that he likes to set goals he is confident about reaching.

“Probably an achievable goal. My goal is to make the team. That sounds funny, but seriously” Bradford said with a smile.

“I agree,” Bruce Bochy said when asked if Bradford has a real shot at cracking the starting rotation.

“That’s great attitude on Cody’s part, that’s staying humble and knowing that it’s competitive [and] it’s always going to be competitive and you don’t assume anything but I think you look at the body of work he did last year, I don’t know who threw better.

During a season largely derailed by injury, Bradford finished 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA but it was what he did in some of his best starts that turned heads.

After opening the season in the rotation Bradford went 3-0 allowing just 3 earned runs in his first three starts.

Following a strong start against the A’s in which he went 6.2 shutout innings, Bradford was placed on the 60-day IL with a lower back strain and would not return until July 30th.

While struggling to find a rhythm after that, Bradford closed the season on a strong note allowing just one run over 10.2 innings in starts against the Blue Jays and A’s.

Heading into 2025, Bradford seems to have solidified himself as a key contributor to the Rangers in some way, shape, or form.

While he knows there is a possibility of him pitching out of the bullpen, Bradford is prepping for the 2025 season as a starter.

“I’d love to be a starter,” Bradford said while explaining that another one of his goals is to “make it in the starting rotation”.

Much like his goal of “making the team” Bradford seems to have set another achievable goal in front of him.

Despite being over a month away from camp breaking, a strong spring will likely once again see Bradford as a mainstay in the rotation.