Injury Notes: Beltre, Darvish, Velasquez

A few injury situations from around the game that warrant monitoring…

• Adrian Beltre was pulled from the Rangers game tonight in the seventh inning after grabbing his left hamstring while attempting to run out a ground-ball. Per Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), the initial word is that he was lifted with tightness in his hamstring — the same hamstring that cost him 37 games of the 2015 campaign. Beltre will be evaluated tomorrow, and it’s unlikely there will be any definitive word on his status until then. If he’s required to miss a notable period of time, the Rangers have a third base option waiting in the wings at Triple-A in the form of Joey Gallo. Alternatively, Jurickson Profar could see some time at the hot corner as well.
• The news for Rangers fans doesn’t necessarily improve, as Yu Darvish also departed the game prematurely due to what was termed tightness in his right shoulder. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Darvish’s removal after just 76 pitches — he’d been a pitch limit of 95 — was a precaution, and an exam from team physician Dr. Keith Meister revealed no immediately apparent issues. There’s no word that Darvish, who only just returned from 2015 Tommy John surgery, will miss a start, but I’d imagine the Rangers will be cautious when dealing with any right arm troubles for their freshly mended ace.
• Phillies right-hander Vincent Velasquez, who left today’s game after throwing just two pitches (both clocked around 86-87 mph), could undergo an MRI tomorrow, manager Pete Mackanin told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Velasquez told the media that he’s “not concerned at all,” though he also conceded that he thought, “Something’s wrong,” to himself after seeing the readings from the radar gun. Velasquez’s fastball has averaged 94 mph this season, so a dip of seven to eight miles in velocity is clearly troublesome. For the time being, the Phillies are calling the injury a biceps strain, though further testing will shed light on the matter. Zolecki writes that the “smart bet” is on Velasquez missing some time, and he adds that southpaw Brett Oberholtzer and Triple-A righties Zach Eflin and David Buchanan are options to step into the rotation. Eflin would require a 40-man move, but it’s worth noting that the Phils did scratch him from his scheduled start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley tonight, as Greg Joyce of the Lehigh Valley Express-Times tweeted earlier this afternoon.