Texas pushed Tanner Scheppers into its injury wrecked rotation, making him the Opening Day starter without any starting experience in the majors. He pitched horribly and then got hurt, and now that he’s close to being healthy again the Rangers can’t decide what to do with him.
Scheppers had a ton of success as a reliever last year, posting a 1.88 ERA in 77 innings, but the Rangers’ rotation remains wrecked by injuries and they could certainly use another quality starter in the mix. Of course, Scheppers had a 9.82 ERA in four starts while showing decreased velocity before being shut down with an elbow injury.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Rangers “are at least planning to stretch out Scheppers during his rehabilitation assignment so they have the option of bringing him back as a starter.” And for whatever it’s worth, Scheppers has said repeatedly that he prefers to be a starter.
