ARLINGTON, Texas -- The AL West-leading Texas Rangers will be without reliever Mike Adams for the rest of the regular season, and have to wait and see if their primary eighth-inning setup man can pitch in the playoffs.
Adams, who gave up three home runs in a span of five batters in his last outing, said Sunday that he has been diagnosed with a case of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. That is when a bone in the upper body presses against a nerve, causing numbness and tingling in the fingers.
"Right now, they said the best way to do is rest, see if it will release. We don't know the exact severity of it," Adams said. "I'm going to do everything possible to hopefully pitch again this season, but at the same time, I want to make sure that if I do pitch, I'm effective and I have good stuff."
While the three homers Thursday were an obvious sign something was wrong -- he gave up only one homer his previous 60 games this season -- Adams said he hasn't felt right for some time. He even took a week off in mid-September when he didn't know what was causing his "dead arm" feeling.
General manager Jon Daniels said Adams is actually dealing with two different issues, with a cervical strain along with the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
The 34-year-old Adams, who is eligible to be a free agent after the season, won't fly with the team for the final regular-season series that begins at Oakland on Monday. He will stay in Texas to see more doctors, and could join the team after that.
Through 61 games this season, Adams (5-3, 3.27 ERA) has 17 walks in 52 1-3 innings. He only walked 14 batters last year in 72 2-3 innings with San Diego and Texas.
"I just struggled with location all year this year, and feel," Adams said. "At the same time, (the diagnosis) kind of eases my mind a little bit because knowing why things were happening. It was getting me mentally. ... Get to the point where I was starting to question my stuff. Now I have an answer to why."
Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison, an All-Star this season, was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in 2009 and had surgery to remove a rib. Former Texas players Hank Blalock and Kenny Rogers also dealt with the issue during their careers.
Adams said surgery could be an option in the off-season.
