Rangers not concerned with Darvish's injury

BALTIMORE -- Yu Darvish was examined by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas on Thursday, and the results showed nothing out of the ordinary in the right trapezius muscle. The Rangers feel Darvish is dealing simply with fatigue in the muscle and nothing more. Darvish did not even undergo an MRI.

The plan is for Darvish to rejoin the Rangers in Detroit this weekend and begin a throwing program. He was officially placed on the disabled list Thursday, retroactive to last Saturday. That means he's eligible to come off the DL on July 22, and the Rangers expect him to pitch that night against the Yankees at the Ballpark in Arlington.

"This was the best news we could have gotten," Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine said.

Darvish last pitched on Saturday against the Astros and was scheduled to pitch on Thursday against the Orioles. He was scratched instead, and long reliever Ross Wolf took his spot.

"He's going to be ready after the break, we just needed to give him some time," manager Ron Washington said. "We did the right thing for Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers. He'll be back as scheduled. As a matter of fact, he said he could pitch, but we weren't going to let that happen."

The Rangers are also hoping Alexi Ogando will be ready to rejoin the rotation after the All-Star break. Ogando, who is on the disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder, is scheduled to make his second start on a medical rehabilitation assignment for Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday night.

Ogando will likely start again on Tuesday for Double-A Frisco. By then, he should have his pitch count up to 75-80 pitches. The Rangers will decide after that if he needs another start in the Minor Leagues or if he is ready to return to the rotation.