2014 Kansas City Royals MLB Opening Day: Wild Card Preview
By Aaron Reese
Mar 18, 2014; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder (84) waits on deck against the Chicago Cubs at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Rangers: 90-72
Just a couple weeks ago and the Rangers were the division favorite. Now they are scrambling to fill rotation spots before they lose an irrecoverable amount of ground in the early-season months.
Last year’s strike out king, Yu Darvish, is out until mid-April with a sore neck.
Matt Harrison‘s back problems resurfaced and sidelined him for a month. Last year, he missed all but the first week of the season with back injuries and surgeries.
Derek Holland tripped over a dog or something and needs knee surgery. He won’t be back until the All-Star Break–maybe not even then.
They also lost catcher Geovany Soto to knee surgery. Soto becomes more important the older A.J. Pierzysnki gets.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus will miss opening day with a sore elbow. They hope that’s all.
Second-base phenom Jurickson Profar tore his shoulder muscle and is out for the long haul. Too bad the Rangers just traded Kinsler.
To help stop the bleeding, the Rangers signed starter Scott Baker, but they need their big guns back in the rotation. If Harrison, Darvish and even Andrus come back healthy, the Rangers have enough depth to recover nicely. If not, they might have to admit the season is lost.