Tyson Ross takes big step Monday toward joining Rangers rotation

Rangers right-hander Tyson Ross looks around at his fellow pitchers more than two weeks into spring training action and knows the feeling.

Most of them, are already deep into pitching in spring games, simulated games, or, at the very least, a live bullpen session against hitters.

Ross is on a different track, however, and his first momentous day of spring training comes Monday when he throws his first bullpen session.

Ross is returning from October surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s scheduled to throw 15 pitches on a full mound. He’s unlikely to be available to the Ranger’ rotation until late April at the earliest.

“I have to approach it as my first time on the mound [after] the off-season,” said Ross, who was the Padres’ Opening Day starter last season but did not pitch again because of the injury. “It’s about getting my work in, making sure my rhythm and tempo is down and getting a feel for the full-sized mound. It’s the first step of many and I have a big picture in mind.”

That picture includes being a big part of the Rangers’ rotation once he’s healthy.

“The medical staff did a great job with putting together my throwing program, building in some rest days, and increasing the volume appropriately,” he said. “So it’s just a matter of getting my work in, coming out of it feeling good, recovering, and moving on to the next step.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Tyson Ross takes big step Monday toward joining Rangers rotation."