SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Texas Rangers pitcher Yohander Mendez could return from his elbow injury around midseason.
The team's fear that Mendez might miss the entire year was allayed Monday when an MRI revealed the 24-year-old lefty has a Grade 1 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament.
"It's really good news. I think we dodged a bullet," assistant general manager Shiraz Rehman said. "There's some inflammation and some fluid in there, but no surgery at all. At this point, six weeks of no throw, and then we'll build him back up."
That timetable calls for an April 29 return to throwing, beginning on flat ground from a close distance.