Gray (right wrist fracture) the latest injury in Rangers' rotation
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SURPRISE, Ariz. -- For most of Spring Training, the Rangers pitching staff had avoided any significant injuries. The last week has more than made up for it.
Right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture after getting hit with this 106.4 mph comebacker off the bat of Michael Toglia in Friday¡¯s Cactus League matchup against the Rockies.
¡°Not good news, not good news,¡± manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. ¡°It¡¯s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It¡¯s just not good news. I'll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture. I¡¯ll get with [president of baseball operations Chris Young] and we'll talk about our situation here. I don't have anything to give you right now, but, obviously, we're going to have to make an adjustment here.¡±
Gray, who is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal, has endured injured list stints in each of his first three seasons with the Rangers. He threw just 102 2/3 innings in 2024 due to a pair of groin strains and a foot neuroma that required offseason surgery.
This is just the latest blow to the Rangers rotation. In a span of five days, the Rangers have gone through the full range of emotions as it pertains to that group.
On Tuesday, Tyler Mahle was scratched from his start against the Angels due to forearm soreness. Young provided an update the following day, noting that Mahle¡¯s MRI came back clean and showed no structural damage on his surgically repaired right elbow. He swiftly returned to the mound in a Minor League game on Thursday.
The Rangers are confident that Mahle will continue to progress well and return to a Cactus League game soon.
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But on Wednesday, Cody Bradford was scratched from his own Cactus League start, this one due to elbow soreness. Bochy said the following day that Bradford will not be ready for Opening Day. Bradford¡¯s MRI also came back clean, but the Rangers will shut him down for up to 10 days to let the soreness heal.
Bradford¡¯s delay already opened the door for rookies Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker to compete for the final rotation spot. Now the two former college teammates could be in the same rotation once again come Opening Day.
Bochy also noted non-roster invitees Patrick Murphy and Adrian Houser are options to get stretched out and contribute multiple innings, though that could be out of the bullpen as well.
¡°I think you have to [feel good about the depth],¡± Bochy said earlier this week, ¡°especially when you're looking at those two young arms [Rocker and Leiter]. I just think when you have two big arms like this as depth, that's rare. That's a rare deal there.¡±