Cole Hamels scratched for tomorrow with groin issue

The Texas Rangers have scratched Cole Hamels from his scheduled start tomorrow due to a sore groin.  Per Evan Grant, Hamels says it is similar to the groin soreness he had last season with the Rangers, which cost him one start, and at this point, it doesn't appear to be a situation where Hamels will end up on the disabled list.

The question for the club now is, who pitches against the Yankees on Monday?  Evan notes that Cesar Ramos is scheduled to start for Round Rock tomorrow, while Nick Tepesch is slated to pitch tonight.  Nick Martinez, who pitched yesterday for the Rangers (albeit briefly), has been working as a starter at AAA, and would seem to be the obvious choice if the Rangers opt to use someone on the staff.  Ramos or Tepesch would require a 40 man roster move as well as a 25 man roster move, although with Keone Kela out for three months, the Rangers could move him to the 60 day d.l. to create a spot, should they go with Ramos or Tepesch.

It seems like the easiest thing to do would just be to start Martinez tomorrow, and then option him after the game and bring up someone else to give you a fresh arm in the pen.

The main thing at this point is that this proves to be a minor issue...the Rangers starting pitching looks solid with Yu Darvish coming back in a few weeks, but losing Hamels at the top of the rotation for an extended period would be problematic.

UPDATE -- Nick Tepesch is pitching for Round Rock as I type this, so clearly he will not be the starter for Monday's game.