ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers left-handed pitcher Robert Garcia expected to throw high-leverage innings this season. He instead spent the bulk of it at the club’s Surprise, Ariz. complex.
“I came in this season thinking I was going to have a phenomenal season,” Garcia said before Monday’s series opener vs. the Athletics at Globe Life Field. “This kind of bump in the road sucks, obviously, and it’s not something I ever envisioned for myself.”
Garcia has missed the last four-and-a-half months with left shoulder inflammation, and now with less than four weeks to play in the regular season, he sees “the light at the end of the tunnel” for a return. The 30-year-old threw a live bullpen Sunday, rejoined his big league teammates Monday and will face hitters again Wednesday before the club determines his next steps.
“I want to get out here as quick as possible to help the guys,” Garcia said, “but I’ve got to do my progression as it’s supposed to be done.”
Garcia had a 3.38 ERA in nine games before he was placed on the injured list April 23. He expected the stay to be quick, because he’d dealt with short-term impingements in the past, but realized that it was more serious than that after his shoulder didn’t bounce back as it usually did. The club sent him to their spring training facility for rehab, and earlier this month, he resumed bullpen sessions.
The Rangers believed that Garcia could potentially close games for them this season after he got high-leverage opportunities last season. He could now help an over-worked and rookie-heavy bullpen as the Rangers chase a postseason berth in the season’s final month.
“We’re in a playoff push,” Garcia said. “I have that in consideration, I guess, to be back and help the guys.”