Harrison out for rest of season with back woes

ARLINGTON -- Matt Harrison will be out for the rest of the season because of his lingering back issue. The left-hander left Friday's rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock with numbness in his throwing hand, which was a result of his back.

"His back is not where it needs to be," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "It needs additional rest and rehab, and because the back wasn't strong enough, he was making some adjustments and overcompensating in his delivery, and that led to some of the symptoms he had in his elbow."

Harrison is the second Rangers starting pitcher to be shelved this season during a rehab assignment. Colby Lewis will have season-ending surgery next week to remove bone spurs from his right hip. Harrison's injury hurts any sort of depth the Rangers wanted in their rotation. While they acquired Matt Garza before the Trade Deadline, the Rangers will have to rely on young arms like Tuesday's starter Alexi Ogando, who has been on the disabled list twice this season, and Martin Perez in the back end of their rotation.

"It's most concerning if we have another issue," Daniels said. "I think we're comfortable with where we are now, but you can never have enough, as we've seen all too often within the last two years. This is another example why."

Harrison met with the team doctor and the surgeon who performed both surgeries this year to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. Daniels said there's nothing wrong surgically with Harrison's back, nor structurally with his arm, but his back wasn't strong enough.

"I think as he got into competition and the intensity and adrenaline picked up, I think Matt said yesterday he wanted it to be right, but it probably wasn't 100 percent right," Daniels said. Harrison signed a five-year, $55 million extension with the club in the offseason. The southpaw went 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA last season. He started just two games this year due to his back.

"We have every expectation he'll be 100 percent by this offseason, but certainly by Spring Training," Daniels said. "We were hoping to have him back this year, not going to happen. Matt's going to be here a lot time, we don't want to push it."