Josh Hamilton might be headed back to the disabled list less than a week after being activated.
The Rangers outfielder had an MRI Saturday on a possible groin strain, the Star-Telegram reported. Hamilton sat out Saturday's game in what Texas manager Jeff Banister called a planned day off. Hamilton left Friday's game after the seventh inning.
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The 34-year-old came off the DL last Tuesday after missing a month with a left hamstring strain. Hamilton didn't make his season debut until May 25 as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
All told, he has played just 10 games this season, and the Rangers seem to be feeling their way through how best to use the injury-prone slugger.
“We’ll continue to try to manage how he feels," Banister said. "This is a guy we’d like to have for an extended period of time. I’m trying my best to figure this whole thing out with him and what is best for Josh.”
The team also has asked Hamilton to ease off a bit on the basepaths and in the field in an effort to lighten the load on his legs, but the veteran said Friday that's not an easy thing to do.
“Sometimes it’s tough because you’re in the game and you’re so excited about it, sometimes it’s like Little League again,” Hamilton said. “I need to [play more conservatively]. Who the crap wants to play that way? It takes a little bit of the fun out of the game.”
On the plus side for the Rangers, outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. is close to returning from his own DL stint with a hamstring injury. He worked out with the team Saturday after playing nine innings Friday night for Triple-A Round Rock.
