Derek Holland could miss two months with shoulder injury
Already missing Yu Darvish for the season following Tommy John surgery, the last thing the Texas Rangers needed was another injury in their starting rotation. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the hand they were dealt on Friday when left-hander Derek Holland exited the home opener against the Houston Astros with tightness in his left shoulder.
The diagnosis: A subscapular strain, which according to the Rangers means that Holland will be shut down completely for the next 4-6 weeks and may not be available again until late June or early July.
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Holland made it through a nine-pitch first inning on Friday without allowing a run. However, according to reporters on hand, the 28-year-old left-hander was only able to top out at 89 mph on his fastball. That threw immediate red flags regarding his health, and was especially concerning given the shoulder issues he worked through in spring training.
This issue, Holland won’t be able to work through, which means the Rangers will have their depth tested once again.
According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the options likely come down to 23-year-old Luke Jackson, 2013 first-rounder Alex Gonzalez, or recently-signed veteran Wandy Rodriguez, who is scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday. Anthony Bass, who relieved Holland on Friday and pitched five really solid innings, could draw some consideration as well. As could Nick Tepesch, who’s started 39 games for Texas over the past two seasons.
The Rangers have options, but it’s nearly impossible to replace production from top flight starters like Darvish and Holland, who were expected to form an impressive frontline trio with Yovani Gallardo.
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But wait, there’s more injury news for the apparently snakebit Rangers. Outfielders Ryan Rua and Shin-Soo Choo were both forced from the game as well, and in Rua’s case it could be significant.
As for Choo.
Remember, the Rangers lost over 2,000 games to the disabled list last season, so a day-to-day injury is almost as good as being available.
Quite frankly, this is just a bizarre two-year stretch the Rangers have been going through. There’s no great explanation for the injuries, trips to the disabled list and missed games that have plagued them. There’s only hope it will end soon and spare those who remain healthy and on the field. Unfortunately, it’s probably already too late to save what they hoped would be a comeback season in 2015.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
