Texas Rangers Starting Pitcher Confirmed Unavailable for Opening Day

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy confirmed that one of the team's possible starting pitchers won't be ready for Opening Day.

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy confirmed on Wednesday that pitcher Jake Odorizzi won't be ready for Opening Day. Odorizzi will open the season on the injured list.

Bochy asked if there was any way that Odorizzi, who reported to Spring Training with arm fatigue, would be ready to pitch on Opening Day.

“No,” Bochy said. “No, I think that’s a sure thing. I can’t tell you when he’s going to be ready. I mean, he’s getting in his work and everything, but to pitch where he needs to pitch (in a game). I don’t see him being ready Opening Day.”

Odorizzi hasn’t pitched in a Spring Training game yet and threw his last formal bullpen on March 5. Bochy said Odorizzi has had a couple of light throwing sessions since then.

While other Rangers starters have dealt with some setbacks due to minor injuries  — Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray — they have all either returned to spring action or are throwing in minor-league games.

Odorizzi is the one that hasn’t.

He will need to ramp up on a throwing program before he can pitch in the regular season. While deGrom and Eovaldi were shut down for a few days, they reported to spring ahead of schedule.

The Rangers acquired Odorizzi via trade from the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Kolby Allard.

The Rangers don’t have to rush Odorizzi due to their work in free agency. Without him, the Rangers still have five veteran starters to being the season — deGrom, Eovaldi, Gray, Andrew Heaney and Martín Pérez, who is pitching in the World Baseball Classic.

Plus, Cole Ragans is the talk of spring after he improved his fastball velocity, and the Rangers have Dane Dunning and Glenn Otto remaining from last year’s rotation. Any of them could slide into the long-relief role the Rangers were targeting for Odorizzi to start the season.

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