SURPRISE, Ariz. _ Rangers pitching prospect Chi Chi Gonzalez will likely miss at least the first half of the season.
And that's the good news.
Gonzalez was diagnosed Friday with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow by team physician Dr. Keith Meister. Gonzalez, who had been scheduled to start Sunday, complained of soreness Friday morning. After an MRI revealed the injury, the Rangers opted to go with a conservative treatment plan: An injection of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and six weeks of rest.
"Dr. Meister felt that with the area where the injury is, he has historically had a pretty good success rate for the conservative route of the (PRP) injection," assistant general manager Josh Boyd said. "He will then go six weeks without throwing and then we will re-evaluate and do another scan."
The potential downside: If Gonzalez doesn't show progress, he'd then likely have to undergo Tommy John surgery and be lost for about 14 months from the time of the surgery. In that scenario, he would be looking at a return around the All-Star break of 2018.
Gonzalez, a first-round pick in 2013, has struggled this spring as he looked to win a spot in the rotation. He had allowed 12 hits and eight earned runs (nine runs overall) in 72/3 innings.
