The Rangers learned Tuesday night what it is like to play one game without shortstop Elvis Andrus.They could soon also discover the cost of going without second baseman Rougned Odor and a 24-man roster for as many as eight games.
Joe Garagiola Jr., Major League Baseball’s dean of discipline, came down hard on the Rangers for their role in an on-the-field brawl with Toronto on Sunday. Each team had seven staffers and players penalized, with the Rangers taking the bigger hit.
Odor received an eight-game suspension for punching Toronto’s Jose Bautista. Andrus picked up a one-game suspension for throwing a haymaker that missed everyone.
Andrus accepted his penalty, forcing the Rangers to go one player short against Oakland. The consensus opinion was the club would benefit by Andrus getting the suspension out of the way.
Odor will appeal, allowing him to stay on the roster until the process is completed. He was in the lineup, batting lead-off, against the Athletics.
“I knew I was going to be suspended,” Odor said. “I’m waiting for the appeal.’’
Toronto had four suspensions: three games to manager John Gibbons, three games to middle reliever Jesse Chavez, one game to coach Tim Leiper and one game to Bautista for a hard slide into Odor and post-game comments.
Andrus and Odor for nine games. Bautista and Chavez for four games. Disadvantage, Rangers.
“It’s not necessarily how we’d like it to go, but we’ll live with it,’’ Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.
The Rangers believe Odor’s heavily publicized punch figured in his punishment. He received the biggest penalty for a fight since Carlos Quentin was also suspended for eight games in 2013 after charging the mound and tackling pitcher Zack Greinke, breaking his collarbone.
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