ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -First baseman Mark Teixeira is ready to return to the Texas Rangers’ lineup and end his games-missed streak at 28.
Teixeira, who played in a club record 507 consecutive games before going on the disabled list June 9 due to a strained left quadriceps muscle, will make a rehabilitation start at Double-A Frisco on Wednesday. He then expects to play Friday night for the Rangers in their first game after the All-Star break at the Los Angeles Angels.
“As long as I get that one game in to make sure I can go through a full game, and play defense and take my at-bats and run around the bases, I should be fine,” Teixeira said Sunday. “Make sure I can do some stretches at first and dive if I need to. Hitting, make sure I can explode out of the box.”
Teixeira ran the bases at full speed during a workout Sunday. The switch-hitting slugger ran out of both sides of the batter’s box, sprinting to first, running out of the box to second, and taking leads from first and going to third several times.
“I feel great. I really do,” Teixeira said. “I’ve been running for five days now. No holdups so far.”
Once Teixeira gets back in the lineup, there will be about 2 1/2 weeks left before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline for him to prove he’s healthy. The Rangers are likely to listen to any possible deals for Teixeira, who is eligible for salary arbitration this year and can become a free agent after next season – with no guarantees that he will stay in Texas.
After playing Wednesday night, Teixeira will fly with the Rangers to the West Coast on Thursday.
Manager Ron Washington plans for Teixeira to play first base on Friday and Saturday, then be the designated hitter for the series finale that is a day game.
“We need his presence and we’ll try to get him going as quick as we possibly can,” Washington said. “We’re going to try to protect his leg as much as we can until we’re sure that he can handle the grind again out there, but he’s definitely going to play first base.”
Teixeira got hurt June 8 when he lunged at first base and landed awkwardly on the bag running out a grounder. He was hitting .302 with a team-high 12 homers and 41 RBIs in 61 games.
“I was feeling so good. I was really excited about just continuing the way I was swinging it, and ready to put up a lot of numbers,” he said.
Teixeira said he has been spending about hour a day in the batting cage and has “gotten to swing 10 times as much as I usually do during the season because I haven’t been playing. … I feel great swinging.”
Add A Comment