Hearn placed on injured list with elbow tightness. How concerned are the Rangers?
Not only did Taylor Hearn have one of the shortest MLB debuts in Texas Rangers history Thursday, it turns out that a sore elbow might have been a contributing factor.
The left-hander was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with tightness in his elbow and was flown to Texas for a visit with team physician Dr. Keith Meister. The Rangers don’t think the injury is serious, but they won’t know until after the results of an MRI exam are read.
Hearn retired only one of the eight batters he faced Thursday, allowing five runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks. He said afterward that his drop in fastball velocity was intentional as he was hoping dropping speed would enable him to throw strikes.
There now appears to be an alternative explanation, and more questions will surface on if the Rangers made a mistake in calling up their most advanced pitching prospect.
“The first indications are he reported some soreness after he came out, and we’re going to send him in to get further evaluation,” assistant general manager Josh Boyd said. “There’s no indication that it’s significant at this point.”
The Hearn move was one of three changes the Rangers made to their roster ahead of the second game of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.
The Rangers reinstated second baseman Rougned Odor from the IL and recalled right-handers Ariel Jurado and Wei-Chieh Huang from Triple A Nashville. The Rangers optioned infielder Patrick Wisdom and left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Nashville in addition to the Hearn move to create three spots on the active roster.
The biggest concern was for Hearn, the only pitching prospect above Double A. The Rangers’ system has been hit with multiple significant elbow injuries in the past year, most notably to 2016 first-rounder Cole Ragans.
Ragans, a lefty, is throwing live batting practice after his Tommy John in March 2018 and hopes to pitch in his first extended-spring game on May 8. The 2016 second-rounder, righty Alex Speas, and Kyle Cody, the Rangers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2017, also underwent Tommy John in 2018.
The Rangers took note of Hearn’s velocity drop. Often in the mid-90s and topping out at 98 mph, Hearn averaged only 91.6 mph on his fastball.
“The velo just wasn’t where were used to seeing it,” Boyd said.
The Rangers are also without Yohander Mendez, who suffered a Grade 1 elbow sprain in spring training but did not require Tommy John. He had a distinct moment following a pitch where he had to stop throwing whereas Hearn threw 39 pitches and didn’t complain until after he came out.
Boyd said that the two situations aren’t comparable, but a visit with Meister will be the final arbiter.
“I am concerned,” manager Chris Woodward said. “Any time a pitcher talks about elbow discomfort it is not a good sign. Hopefully it’s nothing.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 7:18 PM.
