Three candidates to enter the rotation and replace Kohei Arihara, who was placed on 10-day IL - The Dallas Morning News

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ARLINGTON — The very first question that Kohei Arihara fielded after his 2 2/3-inning, six-run outing on Saturday was about his health. Specifically, he was asked about the middle finger that caused him to miss his previous start on Wednesday.

He felt fine he said. Physically, he was good. It was the same report he gave the Rangers when he played catch on Tuesday and threw a bullpen on Thursday to test that finger — to determine if he’d be able to make that Saturday start.

But after that Saturday start — even if he didn’t admit in his postgame press conference — he at least told the coaching staff that something was up.

“This guy’s trying to pitch through it,” manager Chris Woodward said on Sunday, after Arihara was placed on the 10-day injured list. “You can tell by the pitches yesterday. He kind of — I wouldn’t say came clean — but he talked about how it affected him.”

So Arihara is now out with a contusion on his right middle finger. There was no immediate timeline available for his return. But the Rangers have three options for who could fill his spot in the rotation moving forward, at least in the short term. Three names that Woodward indicated the team would discuss.

The first and most obvious is Hyeon-Jong Yang, who got the spot start on Wednesday. He’s been great in his three outings with the Rangers this season, allowing three runs over his 12 innings of work.

The second is Kolby Allard. He worked a lot in relief on Saturday after Arihara exited. That means he’s basically on schedule to start in five days on full rest. Plus, he has a lot of experience as a starting pitcher.

He has a 3.52 ERA in 15 1/3 innings this season. After he was relegated to being basically the last man out of the pen for the season’s first two weeks, he’s been a reliable reliever — often bridging the gap when a starter can’t go many innings.

The final option is Wes Benjamin. He was optioned in April after his command — normally great — started to fail him. But he threw five shutout innings in the Triple-A opener, and walked only one batter.

“We’ve talked about a few different things,” Woodward said of who might get a starting nod. “… We’re going to talk that over.”

Any of those three could make the start. Benjamin could slot in sooner, though it would be unlikely he’d be brought back before the start of the Astros series on Thursday. The Rangers re-called OF Eli White on Sunday to replace Arihara.

He’d been off the roster for only one day. His addition changes the dynamics of the roster in the sense that the Rangers now have an equal number of pitchers (13) and position players (13).

Woodward said he liked having the extra player — especially one with White’s versatility — with the Rangers getting set to start a two-game series at San Francisco, a national league park with no designated hitter.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be a long-term thing with Eli, but I know with the National League games, it’s nice to have for those two games, that extra guy on the bench,” Woodward said. “We’ve got pinch-hitting and double-switching and all kinds of stuff.”

Briefly: The Rangers acquired 26-year-old catcher Jack Kruger from the Los Angeles Angels. Kruger had been designated for assignment when the Rangers traded Drew Butera to the Angels on Friday. Kruger has a .326 on-base percentage over his four-plus minor league seasons. He briefly made his MLB debut for the Angels this season.

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Three candidates to enter the rotation and replace Kohei Arihara, who was placed on 10-day IL - The Dallas Morning News
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