Mitch Moreland Undergoes Wrist Surgery
By Editorial Staff
Last night the Texas Rangers announced that first baseman Mitch Moreland underwent surgery on his right wrist. Texas mentioned the possibility that Moreland may not be available at the start of Spring Training, but Rangers general manager Jon Daniels expects the first baseman to be ready to go come Opening Day.
According to MLB.com, Moreland underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist to have a bone removed. Moreland’s arm has been placed in a soft cast and the recovery time has been set at 8-12 weeks.
Daniels admits that Moreland “may be a little slow coming to camp”, but that he feels his first baseman will “be 100 percent no later than March 1st”. Because the Rangers first exhibition game is in March in 2012 rather than February like last season, Daniels says the situation doesn’t qualify as “much of a setback”.
Alone, this wouldn’t be huge news. But, with the Rangers being continually tied to a pair of big-name free agent first baseman this winter, the news of Moreland’s procedure only figures to drive speculation.
For his part, Daniels told reporters that the Rangers “may look for some protection” at first base now that Moreland’s underwent surgery, but the GM doesn’t see the event “changing the level of investment” the team was looking to allocate at first base.
Following the announcement of Moreland’s surgery, Jon Paul Morosi reported that Texas does have some interest in Prince Fielder, but the slugger is “not high on the Rangers priority list”. Morosi’s sources also say that the Rangers “are not seriously courting” Albert Pujols either.
Instead, Morosi hears that the Rangers will focus on upgrading their rotation and bullpen. The Rangers have been tied to A’s closer Andrew Bailey and were reportedly in on Jonathan Broxton before he signed with the Royals.
Still, the Rangers focused on adding pitching last winter and look what happened. Once they lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they went out and brought in the impact bat of Adrian Beltre. This move will continue to have the Rangers tied to both Fielder and Pujols until they are signed.
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