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Keone Kela To Miss Three Months With Elbow Surgery

ByKenneth Nash|
Jun 10, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux (31) comes out to the mound to talk with his pitcher Keone Kela (50) and catcher Robinson Chirinos (61) in the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports.
Jun 10, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux (31) comes out to the mound to talk with his pitcher Keone Kela (50) and catcher Robinson Chirinos (61) in the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports.

News broke yesterday that reliever, Keone Kela, would miss the next 12 weeks after having surgery.

Keone Kela is going to be out of the bullpen for the next three months or so after having surgery on his throwing elbow to remove a bone spur. Keone Kela was moved to the Disable List on Thursday afternoon following news from John Blake, the Texas Rangers Executive Vice President, Communications. According to Blake, Kela was dealing with right elbow impingement that would sideline for an unspecified amount of time. That quickly moved to elbow surgery the following afternoon. Kela has been apparently struggling with this issue since the last time he pitched and so the move was made as a precautionary measure.

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So far this season, Kela, 23, had appeared in seven games for the Rangers out of the bullpen. In 6.1 innings pitched, Kela had a 7.11 ERA, walked three and struck out twelve. Heading into the season Keone Kela was expected to be a big part of the Rangers back end of the bullpen and some, including myself, thought he might make a run at the closer’s spot depending on how Shawn Tolleson pitched.

Kela, who has an upper-90’s fastball, was a gem last year in relief for Texas. In 2015, Kela pitched in sixty-eight ball games with a 2.39 ERA and striking out sixty-eight batters in 60.1 innings of work. Expectations and hopes for Kela were high but likely will be tabled as he works back from this surgery.

Phil Klein was recalled from AAA Round Rock on Thursday to compensate for the open bullpen slot and made an appearance last night for Texas throwing scoreless baseball in 1.2 innings.

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