Texas Rangers: Starter A.J. Griffin Heads to The Disabled List

Another starting pitcher bites the dust for the Texas Rangers. Somehow the team has managed to stay in contention with all the injuries, but how will they survive losing Griffin?

Starter A.J. Griffin left in the 2nd inning of the Texas Rangers 7-6 loss to Toronto on Friday. The injury is being called a left intercostal strain, and Griffin will head to the 10-day disabled list. According to T.R. Sullivan, Griffin had this to say about the injury.

"“It was uncomfortable,” Griffin added. “I couldn’t get to my extensions on the glove side as well as I wanted to because I couldn’t pull through as much as I wanted to.”"

Griffin reportedly felt the injury come on early during the game. He thought it might be a muscle cramp that he could pitch through. It continued to impact his delivery and that is when Griffin realized something was wrong.

It is likely that Griffin stays with the team through the weekend Toronto road trip. He will undergo an MRI on Monday when the Rangers head back to Arlington to kick off a series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

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In response to the Griffin injury the team has called up pitcher Dillon Gee. He made the team out of Spring Training, and has been working in Triple-A since the beginning of the season. In nine starts at Round Rock, Gee is 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 51.0 innings.

For now Gee will pitch out of the bullpen as Austin Bibens-Dirkx threw 84 pitches in relief on Friday. This injury could help Griffin in the long run as he’s been struggling in his last few outings. Having Gee in the bullpen could actually be a positive for the Rangers going forward.

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