Perez Suffers Bad Break

The Texas Rangers have waited a while to see what they've seen from No. 1 pitching prospect Martin Perez this spring.

After some bumps and bruises to his psyche over the past couple of seasons -- both in the minors and in the majors -- Perez suffered a big-time bruise to his left wrist on Sunday when he was drilled by a comebacker and suffered a fractured ulna bone that will shelf him for about two months, spoiling what had appeared to be a pretty solid chance that he'd win the No. 5 starter spot out of spring training, at least until Colby Lewis returns as early as May from elbow surgery.

Now, Perez won't throw for at least four weeks, after which he'll need another four or five weeks before he's ready to pitch again.

Perez had made a habit this spring of throwing up perfect innings until his second inning of a scheduled three on Sunday when he walked two straight Seattle Mariners batters before taking the hit.

"I really don’t know where the ball went,” manager Ron Washington told the Star-Telegram. “He was down on the ground, and I just ran after him. It got him pretty good.”

Where the Rangers go now for the fifth spot is up in the air, but you have to feel bad for Perez who had finally seemed to turn a corner and was on his way to realizing some of his infinite potential at just 21 years old.

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