AL West Notes: Bush, Cashner, Mariners, A’s

Rangers setup man Matt Bush is headed back to Texas to have the sore AC joint in his shoulder examined and to receive an injection for the pain, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. While that sounds ominous for an already banged-up Rangers club, Grant notes that the team currently believes that Bush will avoid a trip to the disabled list. Bush dealt with a similar issue at times in 2016, per the report, so it’s not entirely new issue. That said, even a brief absence for Bush thins out a Rangers relief corps that has struggled greatly in the season’s early stages. Closer Sam Dyson has had a nightmarish start to the year, yielding a staggering 11 runs on 11 hits (two homers) and three walks in just three innings of work. Dyson coughed up a five-run lead to the Angels in the ninth inning last night while Bush was deemed “unavailable” by manager Jeff Banister. Given Dyson’s catastrophic meltdown and Bush’s ailing shoulder, it wouldn’t be a surprise to Jeremy Jeffress and/or Tony Barnette get some save opportunities in the near future.

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