The already depleted Texas Rangers roster took a huge hit on Wednesday night when starting pitcher, Yu Darvish landed on the DL with right elbow inflammation. Darvish is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday, but he has already had an exam done, and Dr. Keith Meister has said that Yu’s injury doesn’t have anything to do with the UCL (ulnar collateral ligament). (SIA Alert)
Here is what General Manager, Jon Daniels had to say about the hit to the starting rotation.
“The ligament was our first question, but Dr. Meister didn’t feel that was involved. Yu said, if we were maybe in a different spot playing a meaningful game, he might be able to pitch, but we all agreed that with the year we’ve had with injuries, we’re not going to push anything.”
The Rangers have had a rough time with injuries this year. Texas has already lost four starters to “elbow inflammation.” Tanner Scheppers, Pedro Figueroa (Tommy John), Martin Perez (Tommy John), and Alexi Ogando. The Darvish injury leaves the starting rotation as: Colby Lewis, Nick Tepesch, Miles Mikolas, Nick Martinez, and left-handed pitcher, Robbie Ross will be recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to make a Thursday start.
The Texas Rangers now have thirteen players on the DL: Alexi Ogando, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Jurickson Profar, Tanner Scheppers, Mitch Moreland, Prince Fielder, Matt Harrison, Martin Perez, and Pedro Figueroa are all out for the season. Engel Beltre and Derek Holland are both on rehab assignments in Double-A, and Jake Smolinski is scheduled to be back soon.
Elbow injuries seem to be an epidemic in the Major Leagues this year. While the Rangers have ruled out the possibility of Tommy John Surgery, pitchers that have had elbow injuries this year include: Jose Fernandez (Tommy John), Matt Cain, Matt Harvey (Tommy John), and Chad Billingsley.
Yu Darvish’s injury doesn’t exactly hurt the Rangers playoff contention. The team is twenty-six games out of first place in the American League West, and are 22.5 games back of the Angels for the first Wildcard spot. Injuries have really handicapped the team this season, and have put them well out of contention for every race imaginable. You never want to see your ace, or anyone for that matter, get hurt. This injury adds to a nightmarish season where not much could go right for the Texas Rangers.
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