Texas Rangers pitcher Alexi Ogando has ligament damage
By Dan Zinski
In this year of Tommy John surgery mania, we have become conditioned to expect that every report of ligament damage will immediately be followed by the words “so-and-so is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery.” But it’s not always inevitable that the surgery will be required. Alexi Ogando is a case-in-point. The Rangers pitcher has learned he has ligament damage in his elbow, but the damage is slight enough that rest may take care of it.
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Needless to say, the Rangers are shutting down Ogando for the foreseeable future. He will spend the next three weeks not throwing in hopes that the elbow will recover. If the elbow checks out after the rest period, it may take several more weeks to get him back into game shape. So Ogando could be gone almost two months.
Ogando has made 27 relief appearances for Texas this year, totalling 25 innings of work. He is 2-3 with a massive 6.84 ERA and unspeakably bad 1.920 WHIP. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder the Rangers checked out Ogando’s arm for damage.
Ogando was much more effective in 2013, going 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 23 appearances including 18 starts. He was 13-8 as a starter in 2011 and made the All-Star team for the Rangers.
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