The Texas Rangers road to an American League championship repeat took another wrong turn on Saturday when the team announced that the team's 22-year-old closer was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
The 2010 AL Rookie of the Year had not pitched for the Rangers since April 15 due to shoulder inflammation in his right rotator cuff. The move to the DL is retroactive to Thursday (April 21), which means the earliest Feliz can return to the Rangers roster is May 6.
This marks the second injury to a key Texas contributor. Josh Hamilton was placed on the disabled list when he slid into home trying to score on a foul ball fly out and fractured his shoulder.
The injury to Hamilton was a blow to the reigning American League champions, but the Rangers possessed enough proven hitters to continue without any major impact to their successes.
The loss of Feliz will be tougher for the Rangers to endure until his return.
So far this season he has converted all five of his save opportunities and has been practically untouchable on the mound. In eight total appearances in 2011 he possesses an impressive stat-line: 1.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and six strikeouts in 8.2 innings.
The Rangers pitching staff is talented, but the bullpen lacks a shut-down reliever comparable to Feliz to reliably backup their young pitching rotation.
The Rangers will go with a closer-by-committee approach for now according to manager, Ron Washington.
"Whoever is down there, we'll do what he have to do to close it out," Washington told MLB.com's Todd Wills.
"You're always going to go to one of the veterans first. But if those veterans are not available, then it will be someone else. If one of them steps up, then they'll step up. We've got no bona fide closer right now. It's that simple."
The Rangers currently lead the American League West division by half a game over the Los Angeles Angels and three and a half games over the Oakland Athletics.
Texas has gone just 2-4 since Feliz last pitched on April 15 against the New York Yankees.
The Rangers finish their series against the Kansas City Royals this weekend, then start a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays before facing off with the division rival Athletics in Oakland.
Oakland has been playing poorly as of late, but is capable of taking advantage of Texas' loss if the Rangers falter against either the Royals or Blue Jays, making it important for the Rangers to add as much distance between themselves and their division rivals before the division series begin.
Following the four-game series in Oakland, the Rangers will face Seattle for three games.
Feliz is eligible to return from the disabled list on May 6, just in time for the Rangers nine-game home stand against the New York Yankees, Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels.
To replace Feliz on the active roster, the Rangers called up right-hander Cody Eppley from Triple-A Round Rock.
Brandon McClintock covers Major League Baseball for BleacherReport.com. You can follow Brandon on Twitter: @BMcClintock_BR.
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