By JONATHAN DALTON
Associated Press
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Texas Rangers have lost the leading candidate to be their No. 5 starter for at least a month.
Left-hander Martin Perez broke his left forearm Sunday when he was hit by a line drive in a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners, and he will be out into April.
Perez was struck on the arm just above the wrist by a liner off the bat of Brad Miller. The top prospect dropped to the ground as the ball deflected off his arm toward second base for an infield single.
"I don't really know where the ball ended up," Washington said. "He was on the ground and I went out to him. We'll just have to see what happens."
X-rays revealed Perez had broken his ulna bone and the Rangers said he will not throw for about four weeks. It will then take several weeks of rehabilitation before he could pitch in the major leagues.
Texas said Perez will continue his cardiovascular and conditioning program while his arm heals.
Perez, the No. 17 prospect on Baseball America's top 100 list in 2010, made his big league debut last season. He was 1-4 with a 5.45 ERA in 12 games last year, six starts.
On Sunday, he pitched a scoreless fifth inning in relief then walked his first two batters in the sixth before getting hit. In his first spring training start, he retired all six batters he faced, with two strikeouts.
Perez was expected to earn the fifth starter spot out of camp while Colby Lewis recovers from July 27 elbow surgery. But Lewis is ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of May.
