SEATTLE — And now for the next bullpen injury.
Left-hander Robert Garcia is dealing with what he called a shoulder impingement and left Thursday’s game against the Athletics earlier-than-expected after complaining of tightness. Garcia said he’s dealt with an impingement annually and has never had to go on the IL because of it. He planned to take Friday off and the Rangers were going to re-evaluate on Saturday.
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Manager Skip Schumaker said he does not expect Garcia’s injury to require an IL stint, but called it a “day-to-day” situation. Garcia has pitched a total of three scoreless innings over his last three outings.
“He’s had it every year since he’s been in pro ball,” Schumaker said. “So it’s not like we’re not concerned about it. He was throwing 97 [mph] yesterday, so we feel like he’s going to be OK. We’ll see how he comes in [Saturday]. If he doesn’t feel great again, we’ll talk about things, but as of right now, [the IL] is not on the table.”
The Rangers would be in a pinch if they do have to IL Garcia — or any other reliever — in the short-term. They already have three relievers on the IL: Carter Baumler, Chris Martin and Luis Curvelo. There are no attractive options on the 40-man roster at the moment and the Rangers had to create spots on the 40 when they added Cal Quantrill and Gavin Collyer earlier in the week.