The first weird MLB injury of the winter involves an incident with a bull
Follow baseball long enough, and you’re bound to hear about some strange injuries. It’s an offseason tradition. Players have been hurt by luggage, sneezes, dogs and even drones.
Well, the first weird injury of the winter is here, and it’s one we’re not sure we’ve heard before. Texas Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez injured himself after an “incident with a bull.”
Martin Perez suffered broken radial head in non-pitching elbow in incident with a bull. Had surgery last week. Prolly out until May 1.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) December 19, 2017
You have a lot of questions, and so do we. Was Perez injured while riding the bull? Did he hurt himself in a rodeo clown accident? Was he gored? Is there now a giant hole in his non-pitching arm?
Calm down. It wasn’t anything that dramatic.
Bull was in holding pen. Made move that startled Perez. Perez fell on elbow and suffered injury. https://t.co/JoShxDossO
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) December 19, 2017
Yeah, pretty tame. Perez was startled by the animal and fell on his elbow. The bull was in a holding pen at the time, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
So, you can stop worrying about Martin Perez fighting bulls in the offseason. It seems like he was being safe and this was just a freak accident.
While the overall injury isn’t something all that serious — it was his non-pitching arm — it still could have a significant impact on the Rangers in 2018.
Perez may have been the favorite to open the year as the team’s fifth starter prior to the injury. If the team didn’t sign anyone else, he had the best chance for that spot. Despite his 4.82 ERA in 2017, Perez could have gotten off to a strong spring and solidified his place in the rotation.
Now, the Rangers will likely be out to acquire more pitching depth. If the guy they pick up gets off to a decent start, Perez would be bound for the bullpen when he returns. He may have already been heading that way, but this makes it much harder for him to change those plans.
People say “you mess with the bull, you get the horns.” If you startle the bull, you lose your starting job. That may not be as catchy, but it’s just as accurate.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
