ARLINGTON, Texas – For a team that's as beat up as the Texas Rangers are, Monday was a nice change of events.
The Rangers actually got some good news on the injury front.
Ian Kinsler was in the field working with Texas manager Ron Washington for the first time since he went on the disabled list May 19. Mitch Moreland, who is out with a right strained hamstring, feels like his injury isn't severe and he could be back in two weeks.
Pitcher Colby Lewis said his right arm feels better now than it has at any time since he left Arizona. And Matt Harrison, who has had two back surgeries, got a good report from his doctor. He's ramping up his exercise program and could begin playing catch next week.
Kinsler, who went on the DL with a right intercostal strain but later was revealed to have a stress reaction, is also hitting in the batting cages but hasn't faced any pitchers.
His next test will see how he feels after working out with Washington for 11 minutes.
"I'm getting close," Kinsler said. "I've got to take it one day at a time and make sure there are no setbacks and that's it."
Kinsler didn't want to put a timeline on his return but is hopeful that he can play in a game sometime during the 11-game homestand. He's hoping to be able to figure out a rehab assignment in the next couple of days.
"I'd like to face (Scott) Kazmir tonight but I don't think that's going to happen," he said. "You basically have to ramp it up every day, do a little more activity and see how it responds. It's still a process. This is probably the most frustrating part of the process just because I took ground balls, I swung, I threw. When it gets to that point, you feel like you can play but you have to go through a process to make sure you're ready to go game speed."
Moreland, who got hurt in Boston, said the injury is nothing like the hamstring he had last year that cost him a month of the season.
He ran at 60 percent Monday and did some agility work.
"I've got a pretty good plan together and we're going to stick with that," Moreland said. "Right now it feels pretty good."
Lewis, who was shut down two weeks ago and got an injection in his right arm because of pain behind his elbow, played catch for a second-consecutive day. He's hoping to keep adding distance to that and would like to get back on a mound sometime during the homestand.
