Dallas Morning News: Injuries leave Texas Rangers’ rotation reeling (RR)

As the Rangers reached the mid-point of the exhibition schedule Tuesday, Vicente Padilla became the third member of the planned rotation to suffer an injury. Padilla suffered a strained left gluteus maximus muscle in the fourth inning of a 7-5 10-inning win over Chicago. Before he could become the butt of any jokes, Padilla took himself out of the game, but the Rangers’ initial indications are that it is a minor injury.

Then again, opening day starter Kevin Millwood suffered what was described as a minor hamstring “tweak” two weeks ago, and he has yet to face an opposing hitter. And then there is Brandon McCarthy. The best thing that’s happened to him this spring was being told he wouldn’t need Tommy John surgery. He’s only going to miss at least four weeks with inflammation around his right elbow.
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The Rangers two “healthy” guys: Kason Gabbard, who suffered arm fatigue last September and has a history of arm problems, and Jason Jennings, who is coming back from elbow surgery.

Maybe that’s why the club signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal earlier this week after passing on him a month ago and why Scott Feldman pitched four innings Tuesday. While the Rangers don’t consider either as realistic options for the opening day rotation, at the rate guys are dropping, well, you never know.
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If Padilla’s injury is indeed minor and if Millwood doesn’t have any further setbacks, the rotation may, in fact, be set. Right-hander Luis Mendoza ... has duplicated the strong performance he gave in three starts last September.