The Rangers placed starter Jon Gray on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 28, with forearm tightness. Jake Latz is up from Triple-A to take the open spot on the active roster.
Gray left his start in Anaheim on Monday with the injury. It’ll take him out of consideration for the first two rounds of the playoffs. Texas is one win away from securing a playoff berth. They’re up two games on the Astros for the AL West lead with three to play. Even after last night’s walk-off loss in Seattle, they remain the favorite to take the division — which would lock in a bye past the Wild Card series.
Texas would have to make it to the ALCS for Gray to be a potential factor. The 15 days rules him out until October 13, which would be the fifth game of a Division Series. The Rangers could technically reinstate Gray if they’re playing in a decisive Game 5, though that’d require an injury to another player and presumably be too risky for the club even if it were feasible.
It’s not clear if Gray would’ve been in the playoff rotation even were he healthy. Jordan Montgomery would very likely get the first game. Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning could fill the rest of a three-man rotation. Gray has been a consistent presence throughout the season, yet his production has tailed off. He has a 5.32 ERA since the All-Star Break and is allowing over six earned runs per nine this month.
Gray joins Max Scherzer as injured Rangers’ starters hoping for a potential return deep into a postseason run. Scherzer has been sidelined by a terse major strain for the past few weeks.
Chuck Nasty just got extended for another year
It’s to bad the Rangers pitching staff isn’t healthy. I’d have to think they’d be front runners to represent that A.L. in the WS if they were. There gonna have to get hot, and slug there way there now. Stranger things have happened.
They shouldn’t have signed a bunch of oft-injured players. Their bullpen is too bad to be the favorites.
Yikes.
A series of unfortunate events for the Rangers pitching staff. First losing deGrom to TJS really hurt them. Now they lose Scherzer and Gray to injuries that will most likely exclude them for their entire playoff run, even if they make it to the World Series. Terese major strains take multiple months to heal and forearm tightness is a terrible sign for pitchers as well.
The best case scenario for Texas is to win the AL West and get the Round 1 bye. Montgomery and Eovaldi should pitch well but they’ll most likely need to out-slug their opponents if they want to advance to the World Series. These pitching injuries are a major challenge they’ll need to overcome for sure.
Is Scherzer’s “terse major strain” more or less severe than if he had a wordy major strain?
Scherzer has nothing to say of substance. Having been suspended for that once already this season.
Texas should maybe invest in umpires this offseason and sign a bunch of them. Semien just whiffed on 4 straight balls at least 6 inches out of the zone. Texas has the 2nd most balls called strikes in MLB this year. Either that, or they buy off the players’ union trying to resist each and every change proposed, including robot umpires. That may matter more than the bullpen. This is shaping up to a 2012-style collapse.
Should’ve worked on the bullpen in the off season. They might still make the playoffs, but i don’t see them going very far at all. Texas is relaying on Chapman and Will Smith to anchor the pen. That’s not a good way to win.
What if: Jacob. deGrom, Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery, Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray….