The Rangers have activated 27-year old righty reliever Mark Lowe from the D.L. He has missed all of this season until right now after undergoing back surgery. Lowe came along from the Mariners in the Cliff Lee deal. Lowe looked good in his first game with the Rangers working a scoreless inning in which he allowed 1 hit and whiffed 2 batters. He has now pitched in 163 games (0 starts) in his five years in the majors and he is 5-15 with 4 saves, a 3.93 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Lowe has nasty stuff and he will prove to be way more than a throw in down the road.

The Rangers will be without 30-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco for at least the first round of the playoffs due to a ribs injury. Francisco pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rangers during the regular season and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He whiffed 60 batters in only 52 2/3 innings while allowing only 49 hits this year showing how nasty he can be. The Rangers have a lot of depth in the bullpen to cover for Francisco.

29-year old starting LF Josh Hamilton is trying to get ready for the playoffs despite having some fractured ribs. The Rangers hope he will be ready to go next week when the playoffs start. Hamilton has played in 130 games for the Rangers this year and he is 183 of 507 (.361 avg, 1.049 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 31 homers, 97 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton leads the majors in both batting average and OPS as he is one of the front runners for the MVP Award in the A.L. Hamilton has played in 375 games in his three years with the Rangers and he is 463 of 1,467 (.316 avg, .916 OPS) with 235 runs scored, 73 homers, 281 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. The Rangers need Hamilton healthy so they can beat the Yankees or Rays in the first round of the playoffs next week.

22-year old righty swinging shortstop Elvis Andrus was expected to take a step up offensively in 2010 but he has regressed in his second year in Texas. Andrus has played in 138 games for the Rangers this year and he is 148 of 551 (.269 avg, .652 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 0 homers, 35 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. His OPS has dropped quite a bit as Andrus has turned into little more than a singles hitter with no power. The Rangers need more out of Andrus offensively if he’s going to continue to be the starting shortstop of this team.

22-year old righty reliever Neftali Feliz burst onto the scene for the Rangers last year. He pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Rangers in 2009 in which he was 1-0 with 2 saves, a 1.74 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. He gave up only 13 hits in 31 innings last season with 39 whiffs often showing off a 100 mph fastball. Feliz bumped Frank Francisco out of the closer’s job early this year and he kept it. Feliz has pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he is 3-3 with 36 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. It appears as if the Rangers have finally found a true shutdown closer.

30-year old lefty starting pitcher C.J. Wilson is in uncharted territory in his major league career. He has already thrown 177 innings this season for the Rangers despite having a career high of 73 2/3 innings pitched in 2009 for the Rangers. Wilson has started 28 games for the Rangers this year and he is 14-6 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He only has given up 134 hits in 177 innings pitched this year while whiffing 145 batters in his first year as a starting pitcher. Wilson also has 81 walks this year so he has thrown a lot of pitches this year. The Rangers need Wilson to finish strong if they are going to wrap up the A.L. West.

The Rangers have designated 34-year old switch hitting infielder Alex Cora for assignment. Cora played in 4 games for the Rangers and he was 2 for 7 (.286 avg, .571 OPS). The Rangers have recalled 32-year old righty swinging infielder Esteban German to replace Cora on the roster. German played in 126 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 136 of 485 (.280 avg, .759 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 5 homers, 55 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. German played in 19 games for the Rangers last season and he was 14 of 46 (.304 avg, .751 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. German will give the Rangers way more help on offense than Cora would have.

The Rangers have signed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Mark Prior to a minor league deal. Prior hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2006 with the Cubs due to various injuries. Prior has pitched in 106 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Prior has whiffed 757 batters in only 657 career innings in the majors and he has only allowed 582 hits showing just now nasty he was at one time. I like this signing for the Rangers as they have nothing to lose in giving Prior a chance to revive his baseball career.

The Rangers have designated 27-year old switch hitting outfielder Brandon Boggs for assignment. Boggs played in 4 games for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 7 (.000 avg, .125 OPS). He played in 114 games in parts of three years for the Rangers and he was 65 of 307 (.212 avg, .692 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 8 homers, 41 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Boggs also whiffed 105 times with the Rangers often looking overmatched at the plate. The Rangers won’t miss him as they needed Boggs’ roster spot for Jeff Francoeur. Boggs will hook on with another team so I’m thinking the Rangers actually did him a favor.