Texas Rangers Scratched Important Starter From Spring Outing as 'Precautionary Move'

The Texas Rangers are taking a cautious approach with one of their starting pitchers.

Aug 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (51) reacts after the final out against the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning at Fenway Park | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers scratched right-handed pitcher Tyler Mahle from his fourth scheduled start of spring training against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday due to forearm soreness.

Per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required), the Rangers did this as a precautionary move, and as of now, no MRI has been scheduled.

This comes after Mahle, who signed with Texas prior to the 2024 campaign, missed virtually all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The veteran righty made his debut for the team towards the tail end of last year, posting a 4.97 ERA across just three starts.

Mahle came into spring camp expected to be a main piece of the Rangers' rotation, and was very solid across his previous three spring starts with a 3.00 ERA and six strikeouts across nine innings of work.

His most recent start against the Cincinnati Reds saw Mahle have one of his best performances of spring training, giving up just one earned run while striking out three batters across four innings of work.

It will be interesting to see how Texas chooses to play this.

Mahle was expected to be a key part of the rotation in 2025, and with star prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker seemingly ready to be called up for good, that could complicate things for the veteran if he has to miss some time.

The Rangers, at this point in time, aren't taking any chances when it comes to Mahle.

With plenty of time remaining before Opening Day, they won't try to rush him back until they're certain nothing is wrong.