Derek Holland injury: Rangers won't rush lefty through rehab

Texas Rangers lefty Derek Holland feels as though he's ready to begin a rehab assignment after a knee injury kept him from a majority of the team's activities leading into the season. The team, however, does not plan to begin pushing Holland back onto the hill desire the fact that they could definitely use his help in the rotation. General manager Jon Daniels said the team is "tapping the breaks" on the 27-year-old's eventual rehab assignment, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Drew Davidson.

"We just don’t want him to be at risk. When he comes back, we want him to have confidence and us to have confidence that we’re not putting the knee at further risk or something else at risk because he’s compensating for it."

In positive news on the matter, the team released a photo of Holland in field Sunday.

A @Dutch_Oven45 sighting at the ballpark. pic.twitter.com/peyDjoANGg

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 17, 2014

Holland had microfracture surgery on his left knee in January. He was expected to return after the All Star Break, but is currently ahead of schedule. Daniels said Holland could still return before then, but the club is hesitant to be too aggressive in bringing him along in his recovery.