Another Texas Rangers Pitcher Heads To Injured List With Reliever Sidelined For Second Time

The Texas Rangers need another reliever when they begin their three-game series Friday with the Colorado Rockies.

Apr 25, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Josh Sborz. / Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Texas Rangers reliever Josh Sborz will head to the 15-day injured list for the second time this season with a right rotator cuff strain, the same injury that put him on the injured list in April.

Sborz was placed on the IL on April 7 with a right rotator cuff strain. He returned on April 25 after a short rehab stint.

The right-hander left the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Oakland Athletics after throwing eight pitches in the sixth inning, seven of which were balls. Rangers trainer Matt Lucero and pitching coach Mike Maddux checked on Sborz after the eighth pitch and led him off the field to meet Rangers manager Bruce Bochy.

Sborz left the game with shoulder tightness, according to Bochy.

The Rangers have not yet announced who will replace Sborz. Sborz is eligible to return on May 24.

The Rangers are at the 40-man roster limit, so it’s likely Sborz’s replacement is already on the 40-man. With Sborz going on the IL, the Rangers can call up a player they recently optioned.

In between injuries, Sborz has been exceptional for the Rangers in a set-up role.

He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA, allowing one earned run in 5 1/3 innings in seven games. He has struck out five and held right-handed batters to a .143 batting average.

The Rangers’ starting rotation is battered right now. Six starters are hurt, with four of them on the 15-day injured list — Cody Bradford, Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer.

Meanwhile, the bullpen’s top performers have been David Robertson — who threw two scoreless innings after Sborz left the game — and Kirby Yates, who has seven saves this season.