The Texas Rangers placed outfielder Joey Gallo on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, the team announced Sunday.
Texas called up Delino DeShields to take Gallo's place on the active roster. The Rangers will start Danny Santana in center field for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Royals.
The injury disrupts what has been an excellent 2019 season for Gallo.
Through 50 games, he's slugging .653 with 17 home runs and 41 RBI. According to FanGraphs, his 2.9 WAR total is already a career high and ranks fourth among all position players.
One concern about Gallo's diagnosis is that oblique strains can have varying recovery times depending on the severity. The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant speculated Gallo could be out until Father's Day on June 16 at a minimum.
"I talked to Judge yesterday because I was concerned," Gallo said before Sunday's 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. "I was trying to figure out what he felt, 'cause at the time I didn't have the MRI. He said, yeah, it's better to be on the back side. His was more significant."
At 29-27, the Rangers are 8.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West. Texas occupies the final wild-card spot in the AL, with only one game separating the team from the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.
Removing Gallo from the lineup for an extended stretch makes holding onto that wild-card lead difficult for the Rangers.
Gallo left Saturday's game in the fifth inning after hitting his second homer in two days in the fourth. He was pulled with a full count after speaking with Woodward and head athletic trainer Matt Lucero.
He felt the injury in the top of the fifth when he prepared to throw from center field to third base.
"It's not like an excruciating pain," he said. "Just an annoying kind of, little nagging thing
