ARLINGTON - Just three days into the season, the Rangers are facing the possibility of a lineup-changing, alignment-shaking injury situation with Delino DeShields.
DeShields, who left Friday's game after feeling discomfort during an eighth-inning swing, is not in the lineup Saturday. Manager Jeff Banister said DeShields had significant swelling in the hand and was having an MRI Saturday. According to a source: DeShields has a broken hamate bone that will require surgery and cost him at least six weeks.
The Rangers, however, had not made any official announcement as of 12:15 p.m. Saturday
It would mean the Rangers would be without their intended leadoff hitter, a guy who had a run-per-game impact on the lineup when he played last year, and their most established center fielder, a position at which they are thin in the upper levels of the minor league system.