UPDATE (3:59 p.m.): The Rangers have announced Holland will start on Tuesday in Kansas City. It will be his 2014 season debut.
After Thursday's rehab outing for Derek Holland, there's nowhere else to go except for Arlington.
The minor-league season ends this weekend, so the next time Holland will come up in the rotation, there will be nowhere else for him to pitch. On Sept. 1 when rosters expand to 40, Holland will join the Rangers for the first time this season. Whether he starts his next time through, which would fall early next week in Kansas City, is still up in the air after he was just so-so in his final rehab outing on Thursday for Triple-A Round Rock.
Holland wasn't as dominant as you might like to see in a final tuneup before making his 2014 debut after missing the first five months of the season following microfracture surgery on his knee. The lefty pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He allowed four runs, three of which were earned.
Holland threw 98 pitches and allowed two two-out home runs, failing to put guys away when given the chance.
Holland will pitch for the Rangers this season, but when is still a bit of a question. You'd think he'll start in Kansas City, but the Rangers could decide to throw him in a simulated game if they choose to go that route.
