Rangers’ Barnette has strained oblique, Holland in bullpen for now
Texas Rangers reliever Tony Barnette has been unavailable with a minor strain in his left oblique since Sept. 4, his last outing.
The right-hander pulled the muscle on a breaking ball to the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve.
“We have been treating [it] for over a week now, being conservative with it,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.
Barnette was unavailable for Sunday’s finale against the Los Angeles Angels. “He’s working his way back,” Banister said. An MRI showed nothing more severe than a strain.
Barnette, who wore a muscle stimulator around his midsection before Sunday’s game, said he’s feeling better. Both he and Banister characterized the injury as minor. The injury leaves the bullpen thin on experienced and reliable middle relievers.
Holland’s role
Left-hander Derek Holland will help fill that void out of the bullpen Sunday and Tuesday. Holland, who last started Thursday in Seattle, will be an emergency relief option behind Colby Lewis on Sunday and A.J. Griffin on Tuesday in Houston.
This is not avoiding Derek Holland starting at all. This is allowing us to utilize a guy if we need to.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister
Lewis threw 86 pitches in 5 1/3 innings in his first start since coming off the disabled list. Griffin was rocked for eight runs on seven hits and three walks in his last start in Seattle. He has pitched 106 innings in his first full season since Tommy John surgery in April 2014.
“This is not avoiding Derek Holland starting at all. This is allowing us to utilize a guy if we need to,” Banister said. “Inserting Colby Lewis allows us to maneuver the rotation around a little bit so that it best suits the way we think it needs to go. I’m not seeing anything that would deter me from starting Derek Holland.”
If Holland isn’t needed to back up Lewis or Griffin his first opportunity to start would be Friday against Oakland in Arlington, giving him seven days of rest between starts.
Roster move
Left-hander Michael Roth was designated for assignment to make room for Lewis on the 40-man roster. Roth was 11-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 28 games (23 starts) for Triple A Round Rock. His contract was purchased on July 3 and he pitched in his only game for the Rangers on July 4 in Boston. Texas has 10 days to trade, release, or outright Roth to the minor leagues.
Stefan Stevenson: 817-390-7760, @StevensonFWST
This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Rangers’ Barnette has strained oblique, Holland in bullpen for now."