World Series champion's wrist injury deals tough blow to Rangers starting rotation 

The Texas Rangers received a damaging blow to their starting rotation as Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture after getting hit by the ball in their Cactus League game against his former team, the Colorado Rockies, on Friday evening. The right-hander was struck on the hand by a fierce comebacker clocked at 106.4 mph off the bat of Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia.

Jon Gray was the No. 3 overall pick for the Rockies in the 2013 MLB draft and spent seven years in Denver. He then joined the Rangers on a four-year, $56 million deal in 2022 and won the World Series with the team the following year. However, his three-year stint in Arlington has been littered with injuries, and the unfortunate incident on Friday will put him on the IL once again.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy discussed Gray's injury while talking to reporters postgame at their Spring Training ground in Surprise, Arizona.

"Not good news, not good news," manager Bruce Bochy told reporters via MLB.com. "It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news.

"I'll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture. I’ll get with [president of baseball operations Chris Young] and we'll talk about our situation here," he added. "I don't have anything to give you right now, but, obviously, we're going to have to make an adjustment here."

Gray made a solid start last year but landed on the 15-day IL in May due to a groin strain and again in July for the same issue. He returned to the team the following month but went back to the IL again in September, thereby ending his season.

Rangers manager happy with starting pitching depth

Bruce Bochy led the Rangers to their first World Series title in 2022 (Image Source: IMAGN)

The wrist fracture to Jon Gray is the latest health issue that has cropped up for the Texas Rangers pitching staff in less than a week. This has allowed their two top pitching prospects, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, to compete for the fifth spot in their starting rotation on Opening Day.

Bruce Bochy had expressed his feelings regarding the depth of his team in the starting pitching department earlier this week.

"I think you have to [feel good about the depth], especially when you're looking at those two young arms [Rocker and Leiter]. I just think when you have two big arms like this as depth, that's rare," Bochy said. "That's a rare deal there."

Tyler Mahle was taken off the game on his start against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, although MRI scans were negative, and he could return to the mound two days later. Cody Bradford was scratched from his start on Wednesday, and the Rangers have shut him down for 10 days even though the scans came back clean.