The defending champs have had to deal with their share of injuries in the rotation and the rough news on that front continued with a pair of announcements on Wednesday.
First off, Max Scherzer continues to deal with a thumb issue on his throwing hand and will not even throw until it has completely subsided, GM Chris Young confirmed to reporters, including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. A bit later, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that Dane Dunning has been placed on the injured list due to a shoulder injury.
Scherzer hasn't pitched in the majors all season following offseason back surgery. Remember, Jacob deGrom is also on the injured list while continuing to recover from last season's Tommy John surgery. Nathan Eovaldi joined them last week due to a strained groin while Cody Bradford was placed on the IL in early April with a stress fracture in his ribcage. Tyler Mahle, like deGrom, is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Dunning joins the fray, so that's six very capable MLB starters on the IL for the champs.
Dunning, 29, has pitched to a 4.10 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 43 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings this season. He served as both a starter and reliever last season, but all the injuries this season helped make him a rotation mainstay to this point.
As things stand, the Rangers have Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Michael Lorenzen and José Ureña in the rotation. Owen White was brought up to take Dunning's roster spot and Jack Leiter remains a minor-league option moving forward. Eovaldi should be back soon. They are really in a bind here with all the injuries.
Of course, the Rangers on the field have battled through the adversity admirably. They enter Wednesday's action 21-16, good for first place in the AL West by a half-game. They'll continue to try and weather the storm through the injuries and maybe by the end of the season -- with most of them healthy -- they'll be loaded with pitching.
