Derek Holland made his presence known in Surprise, Ariz., over the weekend and plans to begin rehabbing with the club for the remainder of spring training.
The projected No. 2 starter for the Rangers underwent microfracture surgery on his knee in January after tripping over his dog, Wrigley, and falling down some stairs in his home. He's scheduled to be out until at least July — a huge blow to the Rangers' pitching staff that has caused them to shuffle things around quite a bit.
Holland told reporters he had stayed away from spring training up to this point to avoid being a distraction.
Of course, as we all know, he decided to film some commercials in his absence for a local pizza joint. But ultimately, he decided he missed his teammates too much and decided to report over the weekend.
“I get to be with the guys,” Holland said. “I was in rehab with none of the guys there, and it’s kind of depressing. At the same time, I have to get myself healthy.”
If he can return healthy sometime around the All-Star break, as he and club have both projected, that would be a huge midseason "addition," better than almost any trade deadline acquisition the club could feasibly make.
