Rangers Notes: Choo, Fielder Again Lost to Injuries

Prince Fielder may be out for the year with a herniated disc in his neck, an injury similar to the one he suffered in 2014.

The Rangers hold the distinction of limping both into and out of the All-Star break this season, dropping five consecutive series at one point before taking two out of three last weekend against the Kansas City Royals.

The team’s main area of concern has shifted away from the playing field, however, as it was announced Wednesday that two of the highest-salaried players on the roster – outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and DH Prince Fielder – were headed to the disabled list.

While Choo is expected to return soon from lower back inflammation, Fielder has a herniated disc in his neck and could require season-ending surgery. Both players missed significant time due to injuries during the disastrous 2014 campaign for Texas.

Fielder rebounded from his forgettable ’14 performance and was named A.L. Comeback Player of the Year last season after appearing in 158 games, batting .305 and collecting a career-high 187 hits, numbers more in line with the pre-injury totals he had posted with Milwaukee and Detroit.

In 89 games this year, Fielder has hit just .212 while watching his on-base plus slugging percentage plummet by more than 200 points (from .841 to .626). He has just one homer in the last month and hasn’t driven in a run since Jul. 8.

“I think some of the things we were seeing, the struggles for him to get the ball in the air [on the] pull side are very similar to the things we were seeing early in 2014,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.

“He was trying to fight through this, but I don’t know exactly for how long … It’s reasonable to say that this definitely had an impact on his performance.”

Choo, meanwhile, missed much of the season’s first two months with a strained calf and then a strained hamstring, and he sat out three straight games to begin the second half while dealing with tightness in his lower back.

After going 0-for-6 in his six plate appearances against Los Angeles last week, Choo received an MRI and an anti-inflammatory injection. His current trip to the DL should not last more than the minimum 15 days.

Infielder Hanser Alberto and outfielder Delino DeShields were called up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Fielder and Choo on the Rangers’ active roster.

Back on the diamond, Texas stumbled to two straight losses at Wrigley Field following the midsummer classic, managing a total of eight hits as Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel picked up victories for the Cubs.

Rangers lefty Cole Hamels delivered a much-needed quality start in the series finale, recording seven strikeouts and limiting Chicago to one unearned run en route to a 4-1 win over native Texan John Lackey.

The club then traveled to Anaheim for a three-game set versus the Angels, getting swept by finals of 9-5, 8-6 and 7-4 while watching what had been a double-digit lead in the American League West dwindle to 3.5 games over the second-place Astros.

Kyle Lohse and Martin Perez were both shelled in their starts for Texas – combining to allow 14 earned runs on 16 hits – and Los Angeles got wins from J.C. Ramirez, Tim Lincecum and Hector Santiago in the series.

Sliced Finger Sends Diekman to DL

Before the Rangers played their first game out of the All-Star break, reliever Jake Diekman was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Jul. 6) with a lacerated left index finger, an injury that occurred when he was reaching into his luggage for a broken beer mug.

Right-hander Keone Kela was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and starter Derek Holland was transferred from the 15- to the 60-day DL in a pair of corresponding roster moves.

Diekman healed quickly enough to return last Friday while swingman Cesar Ramos was designated for assignment. The 29-year-old has shown no lingering effects of the freak injury, tossing a scoreless inning in each of his two outings versus Kansas City.

Former All-Star Yu Darvish was activated from the disabled list on Jul. 16 – more than a month after getting shut down due to discomfort in his neck and throwing shoulder – as right-hander Jose Leclerc was optioned to Round Rock.

Rangers Pick Up Duffy, Breslow

Utility infielder Matt Duffy was claimed off waivers from Houston over the weekend and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, giving Texas some depth in case the club needs to use multiple pieces of its farm system for a trade deadline deal.

Duffy had been DFA’d by the Astros to clear an active roster spot for Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gourriel, who recently agreed to a five-year contract worth $47.5 million.

On Sunday, it was announced that the Rangers had agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran southpaw Craig Breslow. The 35-year-old pitched in 15 games this season for Miami before he was released by the Marlins earlier this month.

In addition, Texas acquired right-hander Scott Carroll from the White Sox last Wednesday in exchange for cash considerations and assigned him to Double-A.

Rangers Notes: Series Victories Help Keep Pace in Division

Cesar Ramos tossed six quality innings and earned his first victory of the year on Saturday, scattering two hits with four strikeouts versus the Astros in Houston.

With more than a quarter of the season already in the books, Texas and Seattle are the only A.L. West clubs with a winning percentage above .500, putting some distance between themselves and the other three teams in the division.

The Rangers maintained their perfect record against Houston this year with a sweep at Minute Maid Park over the weekend, then took two out of three games from the Angels this week in Arlington to secure the club’s seventh series victory in its last nine attempts.

Texas also improved its record against the rest of the American League West to 15-10, giving the Rangers the second-best winning percentage (.600) of all A.L. teams within their own division. Only the Cleveland Indians (.667) have fared better against their rivals within the A.L. Central.

Colby Lewis recorded six strikeouts across seven shutout innings Friday in Houston while Prince Fielder drove in two runs with an RBI double off Lance McCullers in the top of the second. That was all the offense needed by Lewis and the Texas bullpen en route to a 2-1 victory in the series opener.

The Rangers beat the Astros by a 2-1 final again on Saturday, with left-hander Cesar Ramos delivering his best performance thus far in a Texas uniform.

Ramos limited Houston to one run on a pair of hits while the Rangers scored twice in the early innings against Mike Fiers. Elvis Andrus hit his first homer of the year with two outs in the top of the second off Fiers, and Rougned Odor lined an RBI single off the right-field wall in the third.

(Speaking of Odor, he appealed his eight-game suspension for punching Jose Bautista and had it reduced to seven games. Odor will begin serving his suspension tonight, and Jurickson Profar is expected to be called up to play second base in his absence.)

On Sunday afternoon, Cole Hamels improved his season record to 5-0 as Texas completed the weekend sweep with a 9-2 rout over the Astros.

Each starter collected at least one base hit for the Rangers as they hammered defending A.L. Cy Young award-winner Dallas Keuchel for seven earned runs across six innings of work. Hamels, meanwhile, struck out 11 Houston hitters while sailing through eight quality innings – his longest outing of the year.

The Los Angeles Angels paid a visit to Globe Life Park on Monday and were powered to a 2-0 victory by starter Nick Tropeano and Albert Pujols, who accounted for the game’s only offense with a two-run homer in the third inning off Derek Holland.

Southpaw Martin Perez scattered five hits across six shutout frames as part of the Rangers’ 4-1 win Tuesday, wiggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth before Nomar Mazara clocked a two-run homer off Jhoulys Chacin in the bottom of the inning.

Mazara then stole the show in Wednesday afternoon’s rubber game, launching the longest home run (by distance) hit in the major leagues this year.

His second-inning blast off the Angels’ Hector Santiago would have traveled an estimated 491 feet, according to MLB Statcast, placing it ahead of the 475-foot shot hit by Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton three weeks ago.

While Texas did hang on to win the ballgame, 15-9, both Colby Lewis and Shawn Tolleson were hit very hard by Los Angeles hitters, the latter allowing three runs without recording an out as his season ERA climbed to 10.13.

Choo Returns – to Disabled List

The return of outfielder Shin-Soo Choo from the disabled list due to a strained right calf lasted less than three innings Friday before he was pulled from the game and replaced by Ryan Rua. Choo said he felt tightness in his left hamstring after scoring from second base on Prince Fielder’s RBI double.

The 33-year-old Choo had just been activated from the DL earlier on Friday, one day after left-handed reliever Andrew Faulkner was optioned to Round Rock.

On Monday, Choo was put back on the disabled list (retroactive to May 21) along with fellow outfielder Drew Stubbs, who sprained his left pinky toe running the bases during the ninth inning of Sunday’s win over Houston.

In a series of related roster moves, infielder Joey Gallo was recalled from Triple-A and the contract of outfielder Jared Hoying was purchased from Round Rock while Patrick Kivlehan was designated for assignment.

It was also announced Monday that former American League MVP Josh Hamilton will undergo surgery next month on his left knee and won’t play again this season. Hamilton will still collect over $28 million in salary this year, with the Angels contributing more than 90 percent toward that figure.

Plans Unveiled for New Stadium

Despite the fact that Globe Life Park is only 22 years old and is still considered part of the “new wave” of stadiums built on the heels of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, it could be torn down and replaced with a new retractable-roof venue as soon as the 2021 season.

The city of Arlington and the Rangers announced plans for the proposed ballpark last Friday, and three days later the city council unanimously approved the project. The issue is slated to go before Arlington voters this November.

With a total estimated cost of $1 billion, the city and the ballclub would each contribute $500 million toward the new stadium. The current lease on Globe Life Park is set to expire after the 2023 campaign.

Darvish Set for Season Debut

As he nears the end of his journey back from Tommy John surgery, right-hander Yu Darvish tossed six scoreless innings in a tune-up start for Double-A Frisco last weekend and is expected to re-join the Texas rotation on Saturday against the Pirates.

In five rehab starts this month split between Frisco and Round Rock, Darvish struck out a total of 21 batters while permitting just six walks and posting a miniscule WHIP of 0.75 – albeit facing strictly minor-league lineups.

The 29-year-old All-Star has not appeared in a big-league game since Aug. 9, 2014, when he was rocked by Houston for six runs on nine hits in four-plus innings of work. Darvish developed arm troubles the following spring and opted to undergo the reconstructive procedure on his elbow in March.