Texas Rangers Lose to Mariners and Yet Another Player to Injury in Nelson Cruz

Not all is good in Arlington.

Injuries have plagued the Texas Rangers since spring training. They currently lead the major leagues in a stat no one wants to lead—players on the DL.

They currently fit nine onto the ominous disabled list, not counting Nelson Cruz, if he were to go. The team with the next highest are the Cincinnati Reds at seven. Every other team has five or less.

This time, it's Cruz, the Rangers' starting right-fielder, who had a mishap in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's game against Seattle.

He said his right quad muscle started feeling tight in the fourth inning, but he tried to play through it. Ultimately, he was pulled in the sixth. The temperature at that time was 53 degrees.

A trip to the DL hasn't been announced yet, and by the sound of Cruz after the game, it's probably not likely.

"It was kind of cold and I couldn't get loose," Cruz told texasrangers.com beat writer T.R. Sullivan. "I feel good right now. We'll see tomorrow. Hopefully I'll just need one day off."

If the quad injury were to land him on the disabled list, it certainly wouldn't be his first trip. He made three trips to the pine after having hamstring issues in 2010.

The Rangers can't afford losing Cruz, as he is their only power-hitting outfielder left after Josh Hamilton broke his arm earlier in the season. They aren't expecting Hamilton back for at least three more weeks. So far this year, Cruz is batting .225 with seven HR and 18 RBI.

They had depth, but it has all been depleted by the massive amount of injuries sustained in April and the beginning days of May.