Rangers: Darvish back trouble behind him

Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish will return to his native Japan with a clean bill of health after an MRI showed inflammation in his back has subsided. The Rangers said Thursday on their website that the 27-year-old right-hander had an appointment with spine consultant Drew Dossett about the nerve irritation that dogged him late in the 2013 Major League Baseball season. Darvish finished his second major league campaign with a 13-9 record, 2.83 ERA and a league-best 277 strikeouts in 209 2/3 innings over 32 starts. He finished second to Detroit Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer in the American League Cy Young Award race, but was hindered with nerve inflammation in his back over the last six weeks of the season. Darvish's strength and endurance were affected by the problem, and he received an anti-inflammatory injection when the season ended. The Rangers said Darvish will continue his conditioning "and be able to go through his normal offseason throwing program without any issues." Source:AFP