The Texas Rangers (75-70) trail the Seattle Mariners by one and a half games for the final American League Wild Card slot and have upcoming games against the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and Houston Astros. It goes without saying that there should be a high sense of urgency in their clubhouse. Baseball is never that simple, however, especially when injuries are involved. The organization is not letting its playoff push come before Tyler Mahle's long-term health.
Despite expressing some optimism that the veteran right-handed starting pitcher could potentially rejoin the MLB roster by this weekend, Texas is taking a cautious approach. Mahle, who has been on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain since June, will make another rehab start in the minor leagues on Friday, per Abby Jones of DLLS Sports. The Rangers want to give him a little more time to stretch out and get right before making his official return.
Four-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy has had to contend with a slew of injuries in both his lineup and pitching staff, so he is certainly eager to get some reinforcements at this crucial point of the season. He also knows the dangers of bringing a hurler back too early, however. Given the nature of Mahle's injury, Texas brass will want to be prudent during this recovery process. Make no mistake, though, this team realizes how valuable he can be right now.
Rangers could use more firepower
The Rangers have an impactful starting rotation even with Nathan Eovaldi nursing his own rotator cuff strain — Jacob deGrom could finish in the top-five for Cy Young voting, Merrill Kelly has a sub-3.00 ERA with the club, Jack Leiter is coming into his own, Patrick Corbin has been better than expected and Jacob Latz silenced the Brewers in Monday's 5-0 win — but they need as many competent arms as possible.
Tyler Mahle was more than competent when on the mound for Texas this year. He owns a 2.34 ERA with 56 strikeouts and a .579 OPS allowed in 77 innings pitched. The 2013 seventh-round draft pick is still trying to regain that terrific form with the Triple-A Round Rock Express. He was unequivocally awful in his first rehab outing, surrendering five runs on five hits in just one inning. Mahle dramatically improved his next time out, however, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out three batters and recording one walk.
Maybe the 30-year-old can put everything together in his third start in the minors. The Rangers are obviously excited that more help is due to arrive imminently, but they have also proven that they can get the job done without multiple-time All-Stars like Eovaldi, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Texas will try to stay dialed-in during this pivotal stretch.
Leiter and company face the MLB-leading Brewers (89-56) on Tuesday night. First pitch is at 8:05 p.m. ET in Globe Life Field.
