Corey Kluber Exits Texas Rangers Debut with Shoulder Tightness

Just one inning into his Texas Rangers debut, RHP Corey Kluber exited the game with tightness in the back of his right shoulder.

Corey Kluber was set to make his long-awaited Texas Rangers debut on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game home series against the Colorado Rockies. He technically made that debut facing the minimum in the top of the first inning before surprisingly departing the game and being replaced by Joe Palumbo.

The Texas Rangers announced via John Blake on Twitter that Kluber was removed from the game due to “tightness in the back of his right shoulder”. Blake continued to note that Kluber will be examined further tomorrow.

Kluber threw 18 pitches in the first inning, 10 of which were strikes. His first batter faced for the Rangers resulted in a strikeout of David Dahl before issuing a walk to Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story. Robinson Chirinos eliminated the baserunner though on a stolen base attempt before Kluber got Charlie Blackmon to pop up to second base to end the inning.

Kluber, a two-time AL Cy Young winner, was acquired this past offseason by the Texas Rangers in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. Kluber was hoped to create an elite trio of starting pitchers for the Rangers alongside Lance Lynn and Mike Minor who started games one and two of the season respectively. This is a concerning development for the Rangers who are expected to rely heavily on their pitching staff as they hope to make a push for the 2020 MLB Playoffs.

At the time of writing, the Texas Rangers lead the Colorado Rockies 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a solo home run off the bat of Joey Gallo, the first homer inside Globe Life Field.