Rangers’ Prince Fielder to undergo season-ending neck surgery
Texas Rangers All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder has been dealing with a herniated disc in his neck and has been out of the lineup in recent days as he has dealt with weakness in his arm and now the team is recommending the five-time All-Star undergoes season-ending surgery to correct the problem.
The Texas #Rangers announce that 1B Prince Fielder is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday that will end his season, Jon Daniels says..
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 22, 2014
Fielder is hitting .247 in his first season in Arlington with only three home runs. He is coming off a 25 home run season which marked the lowest total since his rookie year when he hit 28.
Fielder was acquired in an offseason trade for second baseman Ian Kinsler who is hitting .317 this season for the first place Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers are on the hook for $130 million through the year 2020 so it makes the most sense to correct the problem now rather than trying to play through the injury and ensure that their six-figure investment is healthy for the long haul.
Still, this is a tough blow for the team who had high hopes and is built to win this season, but now will have to reevaluate on the fly and fill a massive hole in their lineup.
Texas is 22-24 and eight games back of the American League West leading Oakland Athletics.