On Thursday, Matt Snyder ranked the 10 worst deadline deals of this decade, and at No. 3 on the list was the Atlanta Braves getting Mark Teixeira from Texas for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Beau Jones and Matt Harrison. There was some debate amongst FanHouse writers on how to rank this deal, but in the end the majority felt third was just fine, with the possibility for it to climb the ranks in the future.Unfortunately, those chances took a hit on Friday when the Rangers found out that they're going to be without Matt Harrison for the rest of the season.
Left-hander Matt Harrison, one of the key contributors in the Rangers' early-season turnaround, will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.The 23-year old lefty has had a few stints on the disabled list already this season thanks to his shoulder, the first time back coming on May 29. Harrison returned from the disabled list to make a couple of starts in June, but after giving up seven runs to the Diamondbacks on June 23, he hasn't seen the field.
Harrison complained of shoulder stiffness following a rehab start Wednesday night in Frisco. He was diagnosed with TOS by Dallas doctor Greg Pearl, the same doctor who operated on Blalock to combat the condition.
Harrison, who was 4-5 with a 6.11 ERA in 11 starts, is deciding whether to have surgery. Assistant general manager Thad Levine said surgery could come as early as Monday.
The good news for Harrison is that if he does have the surgery on his shoulder, it's something he should be able to come back from. Hank Blalock had the same surgery in May of 2007 and was back in the field by September. Of course, Blalock isn't a pitcher and when it comes to surgery on a pitcher's throwing shoulder, you should never take anything for granted.
