NEW YORK _ The latest Rangers' pitching injury comes courtesy of a hotel room door.
On Friday, the club said left-hander Martin Perez tore the nail off his right (non-pitching) thumb and also suffered a small fracture at the tip of the bone in his thumb after catching it in a door in his hotel room. Perez, who was sporting a padded thumb splint Friday, suffered the injury Thursday night after the team arrived in New York. Perez pitched Thursday.
Club officials said it put Perez's next start, scheduled for Wednesday in Cleveland, in jeopardy, but did not immediately put him on the disabled list.
Perez has other ideas.
"My bullpen is (Saturday) and I'm going to throw it," he said. "And I'm not going to miss a start. As long as I can hold on to my glove and kind of defend myself, I am going to pitch."
Perez indicated that he was in his hotel room with his hand resting against the door jam when somebody opened the door, squeezing his thumb. He immediately called athletic trainer Kevin Harmon, who took him to a hospital where the nail was reattached and X-rays showed a small fracture.
If Perez needs a few more days than he expects, the Rangers have some flexibility. With the possibility of Cole Hamels returning from the DL early next week and Andrew Cashner before the week's end, the Rangers could move Perez to the DL this weekend and he could miss just one start and return as early as July 3.
