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Frank Francisco

4/28/2005

An MRI exam revealed ligament damage, and Francisco will undergo Tommy John surgery on Friday. The Rangers' reliever, who enjoyed an impressive rookie season in 2004, will miss all of 2005 after battling elbow discomfort this spring. He seemed to have beaten the problem and had regained his velocity in recent minor league rehab appearances, but the pain in his elbow returned after pitching on Saturday.

Returning to full health from the procedure takes 12-18 months, and Francisco will be rehabbing to return to action a year from now. Perhaps he'll look more like the 2004 version of Francisco by midseason of 2006.

4/27/2005

The elbow pain that sidelined Francisco this spring returned following his minor league rehab appearance on Saturday, and the Texas reliever has an MRI exam scheduled to further investigate what is causing the discomfort. The 25-year-old Francisco was expected to come off the disabled list this week, but any moves involving the righthander have been put on hold until the MRI results have been studied.

Several days ago, poor command had been the biggest concern surrounding Francisco, who had regained his velocity but hadn't been successful in his rehab appearances. Now the health status of his elbow is uncertain.

4/25/2005

Francisco has made numerous minor league appearances, but still didn't pitching well enough to return to Texas in his last outing. The righthanded reliever has seen his velocity return, following elbow problems this spring, but his command hasn't been what it was during his impressive rookie season in 2004.

Francisco is scheduled to make another minor league appearance for Double-A Frisco in the next day or two. If he doesn't turn things around quickly, he could be optioned to the minors when his rehab assignment is over.

4/19/2005

Francisco, who is on the disabled list because of a sore right elbow, made his fourth minor league rehab appearance on Monday. After pitching three times for Double-A Frisco, the 25-year-old righthander worked two innings in his first outing for Triple-A Oklahoma, allowing a run on one hit and two walks over two innings. He is scheduled to make another appearance for Oklahoma on Wednesday.

There have been concerns about Francisco's velocity in the early going of his minor league rehab assignment, and Texas manager Buck Showalter would like to see the reliever work on back-to-back days before returning him to the Rangers. So, Francisco seems to be at least a few days away from joining Texas.

4/15/2005

According to Texas manager Buck Showalter, the team wants Francisco to pitch on consecutive days before they consider activating him from the 15-day disabled list. The righthander, who has been battling inflammation and soreness in his pitching elbow all spring, is at least a week away from returning to the Rangers' bullpen. He tossed a scoreless inning in a minor league rehab outing with Double-A Frisco on Thursday and reported no major problems.

Francisco made his major league debut last season, going 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 45 relief appearances. He struck out 60 batters and walked 28 in 51.1 innings. Once healthy, he'll serve as a setup man.