Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish is expected to miss the entire 2015 season.
“Is it too early to start thinking about 2016?”
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If you hear that throughout Globe Life Park in Arlington come April, there is a good reason why. According to reports, the Texas Rangers expect starting pitcher, and perennial Cy Young Award candidate Yu Darvish to be out for the entirety of the 2015 Major League Baseball season.
The Rangers were heading into the upcoming season looking to improve upon a 67-95 last place finish in the American League Western division. Darvish, 28, was going to be the focal point in said turnaround.
However, that is no longer the case. Lingering elbow issues have taken their toll on the 6′ 5″ 215 lb righty, and Tommy John surgery looks all but certain at this point.
For the 2014 season, he went 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA and 182 strikeouts in just 144 innings pitched.
Darvish has sprain of UCL in elbow. TJ is a possibility. To have more consultation
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 7, 2015
Without Darvish, the Rangers really only have two formidable arms in the rotation. Neither of them offer close to what the three time all star has brought to the table since 2012. At the very front end of the rotation stands Derek Holland, who put up excellent numbers in 2014, but was limited to just 37 innings. His 1.46 ERA, while a great sign, might not be indicative of his ability over the course of a full season, especially when taking into account his numbers over the first five seasons of his career (4.36 ERA).
GM Jon Daniels: "Not the news we wanted."
— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) March 7, 2015
Says if Darvish rests, it'd be 4 months at least.
Colby Lewis and Nick Martinez both struggled immensely, as neither had an ERA south of 4.55, and combined to go 15-26 on the season.
Yovani Gallardo provides a slight cushion to the aforementioned Holland (assuming his health holds up). Despite his losing record for Milwaukee (8-11), he managed to hold opponents to a 3.51 ERA in 192.1 innings in 2014.
#Rangers GM Jon Daniels on #YuDarvish: "What we’re seeing is an extension, effectively, of what he dealt with last summer.”
— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) March 7, 2015
Besides pitching however, there is a glaring hole in the offensive side of things. Texas ranked 17th in runs scored during the 2014 season, with just 637; the league average was 659. The Rangers were also 18th in OPS+. Given their ballpark, this unusually poor showing is almost inexcusable.
Bottom line: Darvish almost certainly will have season-ending surgery. All other options are unrealistic.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 7, 2015
Should the team look to contend, they will likely need to acquire another solid bat before the trade deadline. If Prince Fielder can rebound to his pre-2014 form with the Detroit Tigers, along with Shin-Soo Choo experiencing his own renaissance (137 OPS+ from 2008-13), it could also provide Adrian Beltre with some much needed line-up protection at the heart of the order.
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