Rangers insist Kumar Rocker’s elbow injury not related to pre-draft concerns
May 16, 2023
(Hickory Crawdads)
ARLINGTON — To those who didn’t listen Tuesday to Rangers general manager Chris Young, the Kumar Rocker elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery was something that could have been seen a mile away.
Some Mets fans took a victory lap, relieved that New York flunked Rocker on a physical after the 2021 draft. Media outlets cited anonymous sources that Rocker had an elbow injury, yet he had exploratory microscopic surgery on his shoulder after the draft.
Some armchair orthopedists took to Twitter to explain that shoulder problems can precede elbow injuries. Oh.
Young, though, rolled his eyes at any suggestion other than what the Rangers have gathered.
Perhaps it’s just bad luck. Perhaps the Rangers throw a certain amount of caution to the wind in going after guys with a history of injuries and hoping for the best. By all accounts, MLB was is shock when Rocker was taken so high in the draft. No wonder CY had a bad Friday. If he was a 10th round pick it’d barely make any news. Rocker’s injuries may not be directly related, but damn it seems this team can’t have nice things.