Yu Darvish Has UCL Sprain

Rangers ace Yu Darvish has a UCL sprain in his elbow and could have Tommy John surgery, Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Darvish had an MRI on Friday after experiencing soreness. “I will be disappointed if I have to miss the season but want to look at all options, including getting a second opinion,” says Darvish. Even if Darvish opts for rest instead of surgery, however, the Rangers expect him to miss at least four months, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.

Losing Darvish for the season would, obviously, be a huge blow to a Rangers team that was decimated by injuries, including injuries to starting pitchers like Derek Holland, Martin Perez and Matt Harrison, last season. It’s unclear if the Rangers might make a move to replace him. Before acquiring Yovani Gallardo, they had been rumored to be in talks with the Phillies involving Cole Hamels. In the meantime, with Darvish out, Holland and Gallardo will top a Rangers rotation that’s also likely to include Colby Lewis and Ross Detwiler.

Darvish also missed time late last season with an elbow injury. When healthy, he was as good as ever, posting a 3.06 ERA with 3.1 BB/9 and a terrific 11.3 K/9 over 144 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old was the AL Cy Young runner-up after striking out 277 batters in 2013.