Sports

Rangers Mailbag: The Return Of Matt Harrison?

May 27, 2015 / 8:46 AM CDT / CBS Texas

On Tuesday, May 26 Jared Sandler (@sandlerj) asked questions with the hashtag, #AskJared, for 105.3 The Fan. Here are some of the interactions.

With so many injuries and moving parts with the Rangers, how impressed are you with how Jeff Banister has managed the Rangers?
-- @joewbrush

Very impressed. He helped navigate this team through a terrible April swoon and they came out alive. It's funny...the Rangers went 7-14 in April, and we all were worried that this was a 100-loss team. Half of last year's playoff teams, including the eventual World Series Champions, endured a 21-game stretch winning just seven (or fewer) games.

What impresses me the most is the way he communicates and executes messages to his players as well as how he marries old-school baseball thought process and people with new-school analytical information.

With the need for a lefty in the pen, is that a likely spot for Matt Harrison when he gets back? What's his ETA?
-- @wesamick

Harrison's ETA is mid-to-late June. He's thrown a few times at Extended Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona, so he's taken steps towards his return.

While I'm not a doctor, I don't think it is conceivable to believe that a guy who some weren't sure if he'd ever pitch again do so as a reliever. The hope, and understandably so, is that he can start, but I wouldn't rule out a bullpen role at all. He's a heavy ground ball guy and could fill a role as a middle reliever who also can get lefties out if he were to move to the bullpen.

Realistically, who would you see pitching in place of Detwiler or Klein for a contending Rangers team via trade, call-up, or free agent?
-- @DevinG37

First of all, you have to consider the possibility of their three injured pitchers who are set to return in June or July: Matt Harrison, Martin Perez, and Derek Holland. So, that trio factors in to it, plus Chi-Chi Gonzalez, who will hopefully be ready before July 1.