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Rangers reliever Matt Bush placed on 10-day IL with ‘elbow inflammation,’ jeopardizing his comeback

The elbow is a danger zone for any pitcher, but especially where Bush is concerned.

ARLINGTON — Matt Bush’s comeback is in jeopardy, if not his career.

The Rangers placed the reliever on the 10-day injured list Friday with what was initially diagnosed as right “elbow inflammation.” The elbow is a danger zone for any pitcher, but especially where Bush is concerned.

He was still undergoing evaluation Friday afternoon. The Rangers activated left-hander Brett Martin, who dealt with back spasms during spring training. The move to call up Martin had been expected.

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“His arm didn’t feel good,” manager Chris Woodward said. “We obviously haven’t fully evaluated it. But we’re going to find out. If there’s nothing there, if it’s not that big of an issue, then 10 days from now everything is fine. But we want to make sure because his arm doesn’t feel good.”

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Bush has had a long history of elbow/arm issues. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2007 shortly after switching from shortstop to pitching. He had another surgery after 2010 on his right radial nerve. Since 2018, he’s undergone an “internal brace” procedure to try to avoid Tommy John and, when that didn’t hold, underwent a second Tommy John procedure in 2019.

There is little precedent for pitcher returning after more than two Tommy John surgeries. Jonny Venters underwent three such procedures, which led to a five-year absence from the majors. He returned at age 33, appeared in 50 games in 2018 and 12 more in 2019.

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Bush, 35, is more advanced in age, which would make a comeback from a long-term injury difficult. He went nearly three years between MLB appearances due to a pair of surgeries before making the Rangers’ opening day roster. He appeared in three games, including back-to-back outings Tuesday and Wednesday. He threw 24 pitches Wednesday a day after throwing 13.

With a bullpen depleted by injuries, Bush and Ian Kennedy emerged as the Rangers’ back-end relief options. The Rangers had leads to protect late in both games.

Woodward had indicated during spring training that Bush was the one reliever he intended to try to stay away from in back-to-back situations.

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“It was, sort of,” Woodward said. “We obviously communicated with him the whole time. I asked him 15 times that day, making sure he was OK. He passed all the tests. It sucks when when Major League pitchers go out to compete, especially guys that have good arms and throw hard, there is always a risk. He’s obviously had issues in the past. We’re mindful of that. But it’s just one of those things where we can’t predict when or how it is going to affect them in the heat of the moment.”

Bush entered Wednesday’s game in the eighth with a 2-0 lead, then surrendered a leadoff homer to Marcus Semien. Woodward said Bush later made a “funky” throw on Bo Bichette’s infield single. He came back to strikeout Teoscar Hernandez and then got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to line out on a 3-0 pitch after missing with three consecutive sliders.

Tejeda time: Anderson Tejeda will get the chance to show the Rangers he belongs in the majors. He will just have to do it at an unfamiliar position — third base.

The club recalled Tejeda from the alternate site Friday and put him in the lineup at third base to replace the injured Brock Holt. Tejeda appeared in one game at third in the Dominican Winter League this past winter, his first time at the position since 2016. He did play third on Thursday for the alternate site squad and homered against the Houston alternate site team.

“I want to see him play,” Woodward said. “We wouldn’t bring him up if he is going to sit on the bench. He’s got a live bat. He had what I thought was a good camp. He’s learned a ton. It’s a good experience for him however long that he is up. If he plays well, he might force our hand. But, if not, it’s a good learning experience.”

Holt suffered a right hamstring strain running out a hit on Wednesday. The Rangers don’t believe it will be a long-term injury, but Woodward said he would not be comfortable playing Holt for several days.

Briefly: OF David Dahl was out of the lineup Friday after experiencing side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine. Eli White played left field. … With the possibility of inclement weather in the area, the Rangers played with the roof closed Friday for the second time in four home games. The club had hoped to have the roof open as often as possible to increase air flow as a mitigation factor against the possibility of COVID-19 spread. … Toronto, which played the Rangers in Arlington Monday through Wednesday, announced that OF Teoscar Hernández had gone on the IL following exposure to a positive COVID-19 case with a close contact outside of the team. Contact tracing and follow-up testing are underway. To this point, there has been no connection to the Rangers.

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