Nathan Eovaldi's injury answers this temporary question for the Rangers' rotation

Over a 162 game schedule, the Texas Rangers were bound to see some of their guys go down for periods with injuries.

Fortunately, there appears to be a bit of a silver lining in having Ranger stalwart right-hander Nathan Eovaldi hit the injured list with what is considered to be a minor right triceps strain.

The next man up for the Rangers, coming off a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals, is Kumar Rocker, who is poised to return from the IL and be inserted into the rotation while Eovaldi gets to rest his valuable right arm.

There is a spot for Kumar Rocker in the Ranger rotation after all

You never want to see a key starting pitcher miss time, but if Eovaldi hadn't been put on the IL, there was a big question as to what the Rangers would do with Kumar Rocker, who is now through his rehab assignment and ready to rejoin the big ballclub.

Rocker has been ramping up his pitch count in the minors and is finally ready to rejoin he team as they head to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays this week. It is serendipitous that a slot would open up for him now, and saves the Rangers from having to make a tough decision about how to use Rocker.

Before Eovaldi's injury, the organization was floating several ideas on how they would re-insert Rocker back into the pitching staff. They could have stashed him in the bullpen as a long reliever or closer, moved to a six-man rotation, or kept him in the minors until there was an injury.

Now, Rocker will slide into Eovaldi's spot and get the start against the Rays on Wednesday against Shane Baz. The Rangers expect Eovaldi to be ready to return as soon as he is eligible, so they at least get to kick the can down the road for another two or three weeks before dealing with the Rocker conundrum.

Hopefully, Rocker can deliver results similar to what Eovaldi has done so far this season. Then, the organization would have the blissful problem of having too many good starters.