Texas Rangers right hander Yu Darvish was slated to pitch on Monday, when the Rangers take on the Oakland Athletics. After a setback, though, Darvish will miss the start and undergo an MRI.
The Texas Rangers were hoping Yu Darvish would be able to start on Monday after leaving his last start after just five innings with an issue in his shoulder and neck. Darvish, though, will head back to Dallas and have an MRI, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com.
Darvish scratched from Monday's start... going back to Dallas to be examined... MRI on neck and shoulder...
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) June 12, 2016
This development is particularly concerning because in March of 2015, Darvish underwent Tommy John surgery. Darvish left his last outing with what was called shoulder tightness, but now the Rangers will be able to get a better understanding of what’s ailing Darvish.
Darvish, according to SportsDay in Dallas, released the following statement:
"“I have heard it’s common for players who have had Tommy John surgery to have issues like this. Right now, I don’t want to push it and make it worse. It’s a precaution, we hope it’s nothing serious, and that I can be back soon.”"
There is some concern for the Rangers, being that manager Jeff Banister initially said on Saturday that Darvish would start on Monday, but left the door open for the possibility of him being scratched. Later Saturday, news broke that Darvish was indeed being scratched from Monday’s match up with Oakland.
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Until the Rangers get the MRI results back, it’s unclear what the next step for Darvish will be. If he would be facing any kind of prolonged absence, it’s a safe bet that the Rangers would place Darvish on the disabled list.
As of Saturday night, the team hadn’t announced who would start Monday’s game at Oakland. Placing Darvish on the disabled list would allow Texas to fill his roster spot with someone else, but at this time that is undetermined. The Rangers have Kyle Lohse waiting at Triple-A, but Lohse isn’t currently on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, so a move would need to be made before he could be promoted to the Major Leagues.
Tommy John surgery has become all too common nowadays, and most pitchers handle recovery well, and are able to return in about a year’s time. While the severity of Darvish’s setback isn’t yet known, it certainly isn’t an ideal situation. Even if the injury is minimal, the fact that Darvish endured a setback may mean the Rangers may temper his future workload this season even more so than they would have previously. It’s not uncommon for pitchers in their first year removed from Tommy John to be put on an innings limit.
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In three starts this season, Darvish is 2-0, with a 2.87 ERA, 1.14 WHiP, and 2.68 FIP. He has thrown just 15.2 Major League innings since having Tommy John surgery, and the Rangers have to hope this setback doesn’t keep Darvish out for an extended period of time.