Derek Holland Had Knee Surgery

Oh look, a fine Associated Press photo

News just broke Texas Rangers starting Pitcher Derek Holland had knee surgery and is expected to be out until the All star Break according to TR Sullivan of MLB. According to sources he fell at his home and injured the knee, but no ACL or MCL damage was done, but it was serious enough for Holland to need surgery. This is a big blow to the rotation and I had Derek slotted to be the number two starter for the Rangers.

So what does this mean for the rotation? It means that Alexi Ogando is most definitly in the rotation, it means that Matt Harrison is an incredibly impotant piece and needs to be healthy, and it means that we now have to hope that either Colby Lewis will be back to being the Colby Lewis we all know or love, or Robbie Ross must really impress as a starter coming out of spring training. Jon Daniels is not shoting down the possiblilty of getting another starter, but I do not think it is going to be a Tanaka or a David Price, more like a journeyman fifth starter that can fill in while Derek is recovering from his surgery.

2014 was going so well until I heard this news. It really makes me nervous even though it was a freak accident. If he can recover well, it will be nice to have a fresh Derek Holland for the second half of the season, and if it doesn’t recover well, lets not think about that possibility. My personal belief is that the Rangers are going to bring someone else in and not promote either Robbie Ross or Tanner Scheppers, or bring Nick Tepesch back up, if they can find the right fit for the team. Not the end of the world, but not the kind of breaking news that you want to hear during the off-season either.