ST. LOUIS - The Texas Rangers began the week with two holes in the starting rotation.On Monday morning, they dealt Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City for minor league lefty Walter Pennington, then got official word they’d be without Jon Gray for at least two weeks due to a groin strain. Manager Bruce Bochy added it’s possible Gray could miss more time than that.It leaves the Rangers in a bit of a scramble in the short term, but the expectation is Tyler Mahle, scheduled to make his sixth minor league rehab start on Wednesday for Triple-A Round Rock, could join the rotation as early as next week.“We have some options,” Bochy said.The Rangers will need starters on Friday and Saturday against Boston. Lorenzen, who didn’t get out of the first on Saturday, but pitched in relief Sunday is not an option. The Rangers opted to deal with the short-term pinch in the rotation because they expect to shortly have a surplus. Dealing him for Pennington opened up a spot on the 26-man roster.It’s possible the club will use Dane Dunning and José Ureña for those two starts. Both pitched multiple innings on Sunday after Gray exited his scheduled start against Toronto during warmups.The Rangers also added multi- inning relief reinforcements by activating lefty Cody Bradford from a 3 ½ month IL stint due to a back issue and recalling right-hander Gerson Garabito. They would likely serve as the long relievers while Dunning and Ureña are needed in the rotation.Bradford, 26, was off to a sharp start to the season after earning the No. 5 spot in the rotation before a stress fracture in a rib sidelined him just two weeks and three starts into the year. The recovery and rehab has been a slow process. Over the last 10 days, however, he allowed just two hits in 5.2 scoreless innings of rehab work in the minor leagues.“Rehab is a process that just requires consistency with routine,” Bradford said when asked how he’s dealt with the frustration involved with the longerthan- expected recovery. “I try to be as stoic as I can about it. I guess it depends on your view of how you do your job. There is a reason for everything. Being injured gives you the viewpoint of what you would do if it’s all taken away.”Bradford split time last year between the rotation and the bullpen and was an ...
