Rangers Notes: Latest on Ronald Guzmán, Woodward Excited For García's Opportunity
Texas Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzmán received some bad news on Tuesday, but not as bad as initially feared. For now.
The Rangers placed Guzmán on the 10-day Injured List on Tuesday with a meniscus tear in his right knee. After several appearances in spring training, Guzmán was making his first career start in the outfield, but didn't even make it out of the first inning after his cleat caught the Tropicana Field turn in Tampa Bay, causing him to fall awkwardly to the ground.
Before everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief regarding Guzmán's injury, the Rangers have not ruled out surgery for Guzmán at this point. As of now, manager Chris Woodward says that Guzmán will miss an extended period of time, but it is not a season-ending injury at this point. However, Guzmán will be reevaluated by team physician Dr. Keith Meister once the team heads back to Arlington this weekend.
Taking his place on the active roster is outfielder Adolis García, who posted a 1.170 OPS with three home runs, four doubles, and 13 RBI in 22 Cactus League games this spring. To make room for García on the 40-man roster, the Rangers moved Matt Bush to the 60-day IL.
"I didn't want it to come at the expense of someone getting injured," said Woodward. "But I'm really excited. I was hoping we'd have a roster spot at the end of camp to bring him. He was our best player in camp. I think Adolis has made so many positive changes and adjustments. This kid's a special player, man."
Chris Woodward said he has every intention of playing García over the next few games to get a good look at him before Willie Calhoun fully recovers from his groin injury. That starts on Tuesday night as García will start in left field and bat sixth.
García has never been void of talent. An overaggressive approach has gotten him into trouble in an incredibly small sample size at the big league level. However, Woodward consistently praised García's newfound approach and mechanics this spring that had him as one of the candidates for the final roster spot coming out of spring training.
"This kid brings a lot of energy," Woodward said. "I think it puts a little jolt in your lineup, especially if he comes out and does something.
"This kid is as talented as anybody that I've been around. He just touches the ball with his bat and the ball goes 450 feet. He's got a cannon for an arm. He's fast. He showed off a lot of those baserunning skills later in camp. I think we owe it to this kid to give him an opportunity to show what he can do, especially with all the adjustments he's made."
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Chris Halicke covers the Texas Rangers for SI's InsideTheRangers.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHalicke.
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