Rangers shut down LHP Matt Harrison for the season

After a rehab setback, Texas has decided to sit the southpaw for the remainder of 2013.

Aug 14, 2013, 5:41 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers have shut down left-hander Matt Harrison for the remainder of the season after he suffered a setback during his rehab start on Friday, reports Todd Wills of ESPN Dallas.

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Harrison threw 60 pitches for Triple-A Round Rock on Friday, but had to be removed from the game in the fourth inning when he began experiencing numbness in his left hand. The southpaw visited with a team doctor and a spine specialist on Monday, who diagnosed Harrison with elbow inflammation and advised the Rangers to shut him down for the rest of the year.

The doctors believe there is nothing structurally wrong with Harrison’s surgically repaired back, and that the elbow soreness is likely the result of overcompensating with his arm. General manager Jon Daniels expressed confidence that the setback is nothing serious and that Harrison will be ready to go soon enough:

”There’s nothing that we’re concerned about at this point...
“It was a significant injury, real surgery and we have every expectation he’ll be 100 percent by this offseason and certainly by spring training. We were hoping to have him back this season, but it’s not going to happen.”

The 27-year-old Harrison began the year as the Rangers’ Opening Day starter, but was forced to the DL with back issues after just two starts. The left-hander underwent two major surgeries in April and May to repair an inflamed nerve in his back, and was not cleared to start his rehab assignment until the end of July.

Harrison made three rehab starts in all, allowing five runs and striking out five in 8⅓ innings between Double- and Triple-A.

The left-hander is the second Rangers starter to hit the out-for-the-season shelf this month, joining right-hander Colby Lewis on the sidelines. The loss of both Lewis and Harrison makes the pricey half-season acquisition of right-hander Matt Garza a much more understandable one. Should the Rangers hang on to first in the AL West , they can go into the playoffs with a powerful 1-2-3 punch of Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Garza, allowing Alexi Ogando and Martin Perez to act as ringers out of the 'pen.