Texas Rangers Injury Update: Holland, Darvish, Martin

On the night that Cole Hamels makes his third start for the Texas Rangers, the team received good news about two of its starting pitchers. The club has devastated by injuries over the last year and a half, but are getting closer to having two of their top three starters back. But with the good news, there was a setback for a player who was optioned to get more time.

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Derek Holland will start for Texas on Wednesday for the first time since his one inning appearance on opening day. Holland was projected as the number-two starter behind Yu Darvish entering the season, and was bumped up to start Opening Day after the three-time All Star was lost to Tommy John surgery. Holland left the game with a shoulder injury and has been on the shelf since. The injury came just one year after Holland missed almost all of 2014 recovering from microfracture surgery on his knee.

The Rangers also announced that Darvish threw from 45 feet today, which was the first time that he had thrown in five months. Darvish’s story of the season is similar to Holland’s — Darvish made the first start of Spring Training for Texas before leaving after one inning for what was then cited as “precautionary reasons.” He had Tommy John Surgery the next week.

While Darvish will not be back for the end of the season, he will have an outside shot of being ready for the beginning of next season. He will most likely return in May to pair with Hamels at the top of the rotation, giving Texas its best pair at the top since Nolan Ryan and Kevin Brown.

The Rangers will use a six-man rotation. Hamels will start Monday against the Seattle Mariners. Rounding out the series will be Chi Chi Gonzalez and Holland. After the home series, Texas will head to Detroit and send Martin Perez, Colby Lewis, Yovani Gallardo and Hamels to the mound. Keeping Perez and Gonzalez in the rotation will allow for extra rest for the staff at a time where they seem to be getting the most tired. This also allows for Holland to throw more than he would each start as he works his way back against major league lineups.

Leonys Martin was sent to the disabled list this afternoon after injuring his hand while in Round Rock. Taking his place on the AAA roster is Nomar Mazara. While Martin’s setback is a disappointment for a player that the Rangers were hoping to have a Rougned Odor–type turnaround, Mazara will have the chance to prove that he is ready to take the next step towards the majors. Many consider Mazara Texas’ second best prospect behind Joey Gallo, so a call-up for the outfielder would give the Rangers a good portion of their top young talent playing at the big-league level. A chance for him to play for the Express will show the team just how far off he is from coming to Arlington.

Next: Detroit Tigers show promising signs in rough season

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