Texas Rangers superstar slugger Prince Fielder is expected to undergo season-ending neck surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
Fielder will have the surgery done under the recommendation of spine specialist Dr. Drew Dossett who Fielder saw Thursday morning due to ongoing complications in his spinal area.
Rangers General manager, Jon Daniels said Fielder will get a second-opinion but is likely to have the same suggestion of the neck surgery. The surgery within itself has a recovery timeline that ranges from three to four months which will effectively end Fielder’s season.
However, provided the Rangers make the postseason in October, Fielder could possibly return the lineup around that time.
This injury to Fielder is yet another setback for the Texas Rangers. Their pitching rotation has already been plagued by injuries to Martin Perez, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season with Tommy John Surgery on his pitching elbow, Matt Harrison, who may require a career-threatening spinal-fusion surgery, Derek Holland with knee problems, and Yu Darvish with a neck injury.
The plethora of injuries to the Rangers forces emergency personnel decisions as it pertains to building the roster from the ground up. Despite the injury fiasco that has mounted in Arlington, the Rangers cannot just throw in the towel.
After all, despite their injury troubles, the Rangers are only one game below .500 and seven games behind the division leading Oakland A’s who are atop the AL West.
Expect the Rangers general manager Daniels to explore the trade market as well as call up several prospects in an effort to remedy this injury debacle in Arlington.
Fielder was acquired by the Rangers in November via a blockbuster trade that sent slugger Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers. Fielder played in 42 games this season an mustered only three home runs, 16 RBI’s, eight extra base hits, and a .247 batting average.
Photo Credit: USA Today, DallasNews.com
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