GM Jon Daniels “tapping the brakes” on sending Derek Holland out on rehab stint

Rangers starter Derek Holland, out since mid-January after injuring his knee in a fall at home, feels ready to go out on a rehab assignment, but GM Jon Daniels is “tapping the breaks” on that idea, Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram reports. Holland had microfracture surgery on the knee and the team prefers the left-hander continue strengthening the muscles around the knee.

“We just don’t want him to be at risk,” Daniels said. “When he comes back, we want him to have confidence and us to have confidence that we’re not putting the knee at further risk or something else at risk because he’s compensating for it.”

Holland was hoping to build off of last season’s impressive campaign in which he finished with a 3.42 ERA and a 189/64 K/BB ratio in 213 innings. Getting him back as healthy as possible is important for the Rangers, as their rotation is a shambles after losing Martin Perez to Tommy John surgery and Matt Harrison to an uncomfortable-sounding back injury (spondylolisthesis).

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