The Texas Rangers, against all odds, lead the AL West division with a 4-2 record.
It’s the fascinating thing about small samples: they can be misleading.
Now, while the Rangers are expected to be better than last year’s mediocre 68-94 record, it might still be a bit premature to count on them winning the division over the Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners, and even the Los Angeles Angels.
Still, it’s nice to see them off to a great start and the new additions setting in nicely.
One of those additions, Jake Odorizzi, just suffered some crushing injury news, though, significantly affecting the team’s overall depth.
“Rangers RHP Jake Odorizzi underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right shoulder on Wednesday. He will miss the entire season,” Rangers insider Kennedi Landry tweeted.
Rangers RHP Jake Odorizzi underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right shoulder on Wednesday.
He will miss the entire season.
— Kennedi Landry (@kennlandry) April 7, 2023
That’s highly inconvenient both for the team and the player.
Odorizzi was part of a concerted effort by the Rangers to significantly improve their rotation.
They signed Jacob deGrom, Nate Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney, but they also traded for Odorizzi.
Odorizzi had a 4.40 ERA last year and is at 3.99 for his career, with a 1.25 WHIP.
He had been dealing with arm fatigue during the spring and could never get loose.
Now we know why.
With deGrom, Heaney, Eovaldi, Martin Perez, and Jon Gray comprising the rotation, the loss of Odorizzi is currently not affecting the staff.
However, it’s very bad for their depth should one of the other starters get hurt.
There are some injury-prone hurlers in that group.
Now, Dane Dunning probably enters the rotation should something happen to one of them.
NEXT:
Jacob deGrom Already Leads An Elite Category
