Rangers BREAKING: Hernández Shut Down With Injury

The Texas Rangers bullpen suffered a serious blow on Tuesday.

Texas Rangers reliever Jonathan Hernández has a low-grade UCL sprain in his throwing elbow, general manager Chris Young announced on Tuesday. He will be shut down for four weeks. 

The club is optimistic that Hernández will pitch in 2021, but they are obviously taking this injury seriously. 

Hernández felt discomfort in his elbow after his last live BP session, and an MRI revealed the injury. According to Young — a former major league pitcher in his own right — the good news is this type of strain normally recovers and responds well with rest. The Rangers are hopeful that after the four-week shut down, Hernández can begin a throwing program.

"Dr. [Keith] Meister has seen a lot of these, and is confident this has a chance to recover," Young said. "We're hopeful that will be the case. More importantly, we feel for Jonathan. I certainly have been through these. As a player, I know the emotion that goes into it."

Losing Hernández is a big loss for the Rangers' bullpen, and will likely begin the 2021 season on the 60-day Injured List. In 2020, he emerged as one of the better late-inning relievers in the game, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Rangers Injury Report

In addition to Hernández's injury, the Rangers have two more new injuries. Thankfully, they are not nearly as serious.

• Willie Calhoun suffered groin tightness after Monday's game against the Cubs. The Rangers don't believe it's serious enough to warrant an MRI at this point, but they will be cautious with him for the next few days.
• Joe Palumbo is dealing with lower-back tightness, but the Rangers expect him to be ready to pitch again sometime next week.

For some better news on the injury front: 

• Sam Huff has begun participating in baseball activity again, along with some light running. Huff suffered a grade two hamstring strain two weeks ago.
• Anderson Tejeda's elbow infection has cleared up and has no restrictions at this point.
• Demarcus Evans (lat strain) is on schedule with his throwing program and should be throwing off a mound in the coming days.

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Chris Halicke covers the Texas Rangers for InsideTheRangers.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHalicke.
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