THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Texas — Nelson Cruz was put on the 15-day disabled list Saturday by the Texas Rangers, a precautionary move to try to keep the outfielder’s strained right quadriceps from becoming a bigger problem.
Cruz said he has been running without any problems and was disappointed to be on the DL for the fourth time since the beginning of last season.
"It’s not good, not fun. I want to play," Cruz said before going out for batting practice with the rest of the team. "The safe thing is to rest."
The move was retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Cruz came out in the seventh inning of a game at Seattle because of a tight quad.
"He’s not 100 per cent. That’s what he uses to move around out there, his quick muscle, and if he yanked that thing any more, we’re looking at six weeks," manager Ron Washington said. "That’s the muscle he uses to drive. If he moved wrong, then that sucker stretches, then we’re looking at more time, and we’re not willing to take more time."
Texas recalled outfielder Craig Gentry from Triple-A Round Rock.
Cruz can still do full workouts, including BP, running bases, taking flyballs and throwing.
"He’s just not going to be out there at game speed," Washington said. "It’s just that different control than not being controlled."
The Rangers were already without AL MVP Josh Hamilton, who said Friday he is still two to three weeks away from returning from a broken bone in his upper right arm. Hamilton got hurt April 12 on a headfirst dive into home.
Cruz missed 51 games last season because of three separate DL stints due to hamstring issues. He still hit .318 with 22 homers, 78 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 108 games.
This season, Cruz is hitting .219 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in 30 games. He was hitless his last 14 at-bats and had only two hits in 23 at-bats before coming out of Tuesday night’s game.
Gentry was batting .239 with nine RBIs in 25 games at Round Rock.
With Cruz out of the lineup, Mitch Moreland will primarily play right field instead of first base. That means more time at first for Michael Young and Chris Davis, who started Saturday night against the New York Yankees while Young played second base.
