On Friday, we wrote about how scary the Rangers' lineup could look once Rougned Odor's suspension runs its course and Shin-Soo Choo is back in the lineup going full steam ahead.
That still holds true, but Choo's status is back up in the air after he returned from more than a month on the disabled list on Friday only to leave the game in the early innings.
Choo walked in his first two at-bats and scored while hitting in the leadoff position. He got on base, just like he's supposed to. Then, he tweaked his hamstring and was out of the game. Talk about a downer.
Neither the Rangers nor Choo feel the latest injury is anything significant — nothing like the calf strain that put him on the DL in the first place. The club said he could possibly return Monday to start a series against the Angels, but if he can't, the Rangers will be facing a tough decision.
Odor's appeal for his eight-game suspension for "The Punch" is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, meaning his suspension will start on Tuesday unless that appeal miraculously wipes out any suspension at all, which won't happen.
If Choo is hurt, but not badly enough to be on the DL, that would mean the Rangers would essentially be playing with a 23-man roster and a two-man bench for the duration of Odor's suspension or Choo's latest setback.
It could force the Rangers to put Choo back on the DL, which would be unfortunate given what he meant to the club over the final two-plus months of 2015 and what he did on Friday in his return.
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In hindsight, it almost makes you wish Odor would've just served his time after last Sunday's brawl and he'd be eligible to return Wednesday, but hindsight's 20/20, right?
