The Texas Rangers placed pitcher Jack Leiter on the 15 day injured list prior to last night’s game. Replacing Leiter on the active roster is pitcher Patrick Corbin, who was recalled from Round Rock.
Leiter has gotten off to an excellent start to the season, putting up a 0.90 ERA, 1.22 FIP, 2.00 xERA and 2.34 xFIP in 10 innings over two starts, with ten strikeouts against just one walk. He is leading the American League in ERA at this very early stage of the season, and the majors in ERA+ and FIP.
Leiter was lifted after five innings his last time out due to what was described as precautionary move because a blister had developed on his finger. As it appears he will not be ready to make his next start, the Rangers have opted to put him on the i.l.
Thus we have Patrick Corbin joining the major league team a little earlier than expected. Signed late in camp, Corbin was optioned and was expected to make an appearance or two in the minors to build up his pitch count, given he basically didn’t have a spring training. Instead, he will presumably start on Tuesday, April 8, against the Chicago Cubs, since that’s when Leiter’s spot in the rotation is next due up, though he will likely be limited to three or four innings.
The Rangers catch a break from a scheduling standpoint in the coming days as they have off days on both April 10 and April 14, which potentially allows for some rotation shuffling if desired. Leiter will be eligible to return on April 18, and if the Rangers opt to bring him back after the minimum amount of time and put him back in the rotation, they would be able to slot him in there without a problem.
The pitcher who would potentially seem to be on the bubble in the rotation is Kumar Rocker, who had an up-and-down spring followed by a bad first start. He is slated to make his next start Sunday afternoon against the Rays. Another bad start would conceivably allow the Rangers to use the two off days in five day stretch to skip his spot in the rotation and plug Leiter into it when Leiter returns, although given the desire to manage the workloads of their current starters, it seems more likely they’d stick either stick with Rocker for a third start or send him down for a fresh arm and have someone like Gerson Garabito make a spot start in his place, so that the rest of the rotation gets extra rest.
