MLB notes: Royals reliever Greg Holland out for rest of season

Kansas City Royals reliever Greg Holland has a right elbow ligament tear that will end his season and likely require surgery.

“It’s a significant tear,” Royals manager Ned Yost said Thursday.

Holland will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles next week to determine the severity of the injury.

Surgery is probable but depends on the second opinion.

“This wasn’t a situation where rest would help it.” Yost said.

An MRI on Aug. 31 detected the tear, but Holland wanted to try to pitch through it.

“He felt like he could manage through it and would still be trying if I didn’t say, ‘Look, I’m not going to use you as my closer,’ ” Yost said.

Holland, 29, leads the Royals with 32 saves in 37 opportunities, but has been erratic this season. His fastball velocity has dipped to the upper 80s and lower 90s mph.

Yost said that Wade Davis would be his closer for the remainder of the season and postseason.

“We’re at the point of our season where we can’t afford a hiccup,” Yost said. “And knowing what we know about that tear, it’s not the thing to do for everybody.”

Holland said the elbow has been bothering him since August 2014, but he did not want an MRI.

“I felt good enough to go out there to compete,” Holland said. “I didn’t want it to sidetrack anything we were trying to do. We got through the (2014) season, and we went into the offseason as sort of that extended shutdown period to see how it would respond. And it responded well.”

Davis is 8-1 with 13 saves in 14 chances and a 0.86 ERA.

M’s Walker done?

Taijuan Walker’s season appears over. 

Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon didn’t completely rule out Walker from another start but conceded, “Taijuan is most likely done for the year.” 

The issue is one of workload. 

Walker, 23, has pitched a career-high 169 2/3 innings after being limited a year ago to 129 innings at all levels. Clubs are generally hesitant for young pitchers to go much beyond a 30-inning increase. 

“I weighed a lot of things,” McClendon said. “Ensuring that he’s healthy and goes into next season feeling good about what he’s accomplished this year, that outweighed everything else.”

Clearing the bases

The Red Sox have hired Mike Hazen as general manager, the first big move by Dave Dombrowski since he took over as president of baseball operations in August. Hazen, 39, has worked in the Red Sox front office for the last 10 years. … Boston has shut down OF Hanley Ramirez for the season due to right shoulder inflammation. … Washington INF Danny Espinosa’s season is probably finished because of a torn hamstring.