Rangers pitcher lands on IL before Yankees clash

The Texas Rangers have placed veteran pitcher Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder fatigue, the team announced less than an hour before first pitch of their series opener against the New York Yankees.

The move is retroactive to May 19 and the Rangers called up Cole Winn from Triple-A Round Rock as a corresponding move.

Martin, a right-handed reliever, has already appeared in 22 games for Texas out of the bullpen. He has a 1.83 ERA over 19.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and a 0.915 WHIP. He has also issued only one non-intentional walk all season.

While the move is discouraging to Rangers fans coming right before a series against the defending American League champions, it’s hardly surprising. Martin threw just one pitch his last time out against the Houston Astros before he exited with shoulder soreness. And just last week, Texas sent him for imaging as he dealt with elbow discomfort, which came back negative.

With Walker on the shelf for the next two weeks at minimum, the Rangers will have to look elsewhere for effectiveness out of the bullpen, which has been better than the numbers might indicate. Walker was part of the trio that also included Hoby Milner and Robert Garcia who have been reliable this season.

The rest of the bullpen has been less consistent, but still holds promise. Jacob Webb has turned in three straight scoreless performances, but also isn’t striking out nearly as many batters as he usually does. Meanwhile closer Luke Jackson, thankfully okay after taking a come-backer off his hand, is saddled to a 5.22 ERA, but that’s almost entirely the result of two bad outings.

Winn will now join the Rangers bullpen, beginning his second stint with the Big League club this season. The 25-year-old righty has appeared in 14 games during his young career and holds a career 6.84 ERA.