According to the last update received, Bradford, out with a sprained left elbow, is due to resume throwing in mid-April. Late May was the earliest he was going to return anyway, so this doesn’t make much of a difference.

Bradford is expected to resume throwing in mid-April, potentially setting him up for a return in the second half of May. That’s the optimistic scenario.

Rangers executive Chris Young told reporters Saturday that Bradford will be shut down for at least the next month due to elbow soreness before he resumes a throwing program. The 27-year-old southpaw will require several weeks to build up his arm strength and pitch count, which puts his likely debut sometime in the mid-to-late May range, even in a best-case scenario. His lengthy absence creates an opportunity for top prospect Jack Leiter, who has been absolutely electric this spring, to show he belongs at the highest level.

Bradford was shut down this week with elbow soreness, and even though the MRI came back clean, the Rangers shut him down from throwing for at least a week. He will then need to ramp back up and build up his pitch counts, so the team is opting to take it slow with him. That could mean that Jack Leiter, who has impressed this spring, opens the season in the rotation, but Bochy is “not laying odds” as to whether that will be the case or not.