Neftali Feliz to 15-day DL, Rangers to use closer-by-committee approach

It seems that there have been a greater number of injuries to key players this April than there has been in the first month in recent memory.

Players such as Tampa's Evan Longoria, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman and Minnesota's Joe Mauer are just a few of the elite players that have landed on the disabled list (DL). Two players (Matt Holliday and Adam Dunn) even had emergency appendectomies.

And after already losing outfielder Josh Hamilton for six-to-eight weeks, the Rangers have placed their closer, Neftali Feliz, on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation.

The move is retroactive to Thursday, which means Feliz will be eligible to return on May 6th when the Rangers begin a three-game series at home against the Yankees.

"If this was somebody older, who had dealt with this before, we might just give him a few days off," [general manager Jon] Daniels said, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "But we want to be extra cautious."

Right-hander Cody Eppley from Triple-A Round Rock will take his spot on the active roster.

Last season, Feliz set the rookie record for saves (40) in a season and won the A.L. Rookie of the Year award. This year, Feliz has converted all five of his save opportunities and has a 1.08 ERA.

As far as the interim closer while Feliz is out, it's going to be a closer-by-committee approach. Per Anthony Andro of Fort Worth Star-Telegram, manager Ron Washington said, "We've got no bona fide closer right now."

Rangers name Neftali Feliz as its closer for 2011

Although he was scheduled to start against the Padres today, Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz will instead come out of the bullpen.

Despite pitching well enough this spring to earn a spot in the rotation, manager Ron Washington believes Feliz will be of greater value to the team as its closer.

"That's exactly what I told him," Washington said, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. "Right now, for our organization, we're better off with him in the bullpen. We haven't closed the door on him being a starter. We're just not ready yet."

The Rangers starting rotation will be C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland.

Feliz, who was named the A.L. Rookie of the Year, finished with 40 saves last year.

Feliz (not Francisco) to close for Texas

I can't say that I didn't see it coming.

In one of our Fantasy Baseball Weekly podcasts in late-February, we discussed relief pitchers (and catchers). Fearing a potential implosion and subsequent replacement by Neftali Feliz, I mentioned during that podcast that I would avoid Rangers closer Frank Francisco on all of my fantasy baseball teams.

That said, it's happened quicker than I thought although manager Ron Washington implied that the transition is temporary.

“That just didn’t look like Frankie,” Washington said Sunday, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We haven’t seen that [closer] guy … and there’s no way we can go through this year without Frankie Francisco.”

If Feliz has more success than Francisco, who has blown two of three save opportunities, however, it's easy to imagine this move being more than just temporary for the 2010 season.

Ron Washington's job security?

There are some Texas-sized expectations for the Rangers in 2010, especially from those in the organization.

In fact, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton predicted "96 wins."

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asks in his column in the Dallas Morning News this morning, "Is Ron Washington on the hot seat?"

Washington, who is the fourth and final year of his contract, led the Rangers to 87 wins last year and has improved the club in each of his three seasons. (He won 75 and 79 games in his first two seasons, respectively.)

Despite internal debate over whether to fire Washington after he had failed a drug test last year, the Rangers decided to keep him as their skipper. That said, Wilson mentions the "lingering belief" that the Rangers could be looking to fire Washington, at the earliest convenient opportunity (i.e., losing streak, managerial error, etc.)

"That's silly," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Trust me: Nobody here is looking for something like that. We're all trying to work together to help this team win."

Barring a second failed drug test, which seems unlikely, or something else equally embarrassing for the franchise, it's hard to envision Washington being replaced mid-season.

Perhaps if the Rangers take a step back from 87 wins, Washington may not be back in 2011. Otherwise, a fourth straight year of improvement would seem to guarantee his continued stewardship of the club.

(Note: Win #1 is in the books.)

Washington says Kinsler would have won MVP if...

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington says that if Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler didn't miss the final six weeks due to injury, Kinsler would have won the A.L. MVP. The award was won by Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox second baseman.

"There would have been no contest if Kins doesn't get hurt," Washington said. "No doubt about it. He would've put some numbers up that nobody would have caught him. He would've continued to score runs. He would've continued to hit doubles. He would've gotten some more home runs. He would've continued to add to his stolen base total without getting caught."

In 121 games, Kinsler posted a .319 batting average, scored 102 runs, hit 41 doubles and 18 homeruns, drove in 71 RBIs and stole 26 bases. Not only did he steal 26 bases, but he was only thrown out twice.

Pedroia played 157 games. In less games, Kinsler stole more bases and hit more homeruns than Pedroia. If Kinsler played the same number of games as Pedroia, his pace was 132 runs (118 for Pedroia), 53 doubles (54 for Pedroia) and 92 RBIs (83 for Pedroia).

However, injuries are part of baseball (and any sport, for that matter). And baseball is perhaps the game where players go through peaks and valleys more so than other sports. So while I think Kinsler probably would have put up better numbers almost across the board than Pedroia (if healthy), I think Washington's assertion that it would have been "no contest" is off.

That being said, it's always good for team morale when the manager (and/or front office) has the players' backs.