Texas hasn’t officially changed its Opening Day plans yet, but T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Yu Darvish is unlikely to make his Game 1 start because of a stiff neck.
For now general manager Jon Daniels is saying the Rangers could simply push back Darvish’s start, basically moving him to the end of the rotation, which wouldn’t require placing him on the disabled list.
Darvish was initially scratched from his scheduled start Friday when he woke up with a stiff neck and … well, basically every piece of injury news for the Rangers has been a bummer lately, so this fits. Texas was already beginning the season without Derek Holland and Matt Harrison in the rotation.
Despite dealing with back and hip problems last season Darvish was fantastic for the Rangers, starting 32 games and logging 210 innings with a 2.83 ERA and MLB-leading 277 strikeouts.
