25-year old righty Josh Lindblom will be called up next Monday to replace Alexi Ogando (on the D.L.) in the starting rotation.  Lindblom has pitched in 8 games (7 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the Rangers and he is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  He has given up 27 hits and 11 walks while whiffing 33 batters in his first 43 1/3 innings in AAA, which is impressive.  Lindblom has pitched in 101 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 4-5 with 1 save, a 3.31 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  The Rangers acquired Lindblom on December 9th 2012 from the Phillies in the deal which sent Michael Young out of town.

The Rangers have signed 33-year old righty starter/reliever Scott Richmond to a minor league deal.  Richmond pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP.  Richmond has now pitched in 36 games (29 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 9-14 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  Richmond might get a shot with the Rangers if he looks good in the minors.

30-year old righty starting pitcher Randy Wells has decided to retire from baseball.  He pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 0-4 with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP.  He gave up 32 hits (4 homers) and he walked 12 batters while whiffing 20 of them in 23 2/3 innings in AAA-ball as he was getting hit hard.  Wells pitched in 98 games (86 starts) in his five years in the majors and he was 28-32 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  This isn’t much of a loss moving forward for the Rangers.

The Rangers have claimed 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Charlie Leesman off waivers from the White Sox.  Leesman pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the White Sox and he was 12-10 with a 2.47 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 111 games (109 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 49-28 with 1 save, a 3.37 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.  This was a good pickup for the Rangers as you can never have enough pitching in the minors.

UPDATE:  (4/24/2013) - Charlie Leesman has rejected the Rangers claim and he has elected to become a free agent.

The Rangers have dealt 26-year old lefty reliever Jeff Beliveau to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.  He pitched in 1 game out of the pen for the Rangers in AAA-ball this year and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP.  Beliveau got his first taste of the majors with the Cubs last year, working in 22 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP.  This is not much of a loss for the Rangers.

The Rangers have designated 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Julio Borbon for assignment.  Borbon played in 1 game for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 1 (.000 avg, .000 OPS) with 1 run scored.  Borbon played in 216 games in his four years with the Rangers and he was 194 of 685 (.283 avg, .681 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 7 homers, 73 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.  The Rangers shouldn’t have much of a problem finding a trade partner for Borbon, as he will likely really benefit from a change of scenery.

UPDATE:  (4/19/2013) - The Rangers have lost Julio Borbon on waivers to the Chicago Cubs.

The Rangers have acquired 28-year old righty swinging catcher Robinson Chirinos from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.  Chirinos missed the entire 2012 season due to a nasty concussion.  He got his first (and only) taste of the majors for the Rays in 2011.  He played in 20 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 12 for 55 (.218 avg, .592 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs.  Chirinos has played in 951 games in his first 11 years in the minors and he is 830 of 3,191 (.260 avg, .768 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 85 homers, 420 RBIs and 65 stolen bases.  He will start his career with the Rangers in AAA-ball.

UPDATE:  (4/23/2013) - The Rangers have sent cash to the Rays to complete this deal.

The Texas Rangers have released 26-year old righty swinging 1B Brandon Snyder at his request.  He played in 17 games in spring training for the Rangers this year and he was 4 for 24 (.167 avg, .609 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  Snyder played in 40 games for the Rangers last year and he was 18 for 65 (.277 avg, .755 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 9 RBIs.  Snyder could hook on with another team soon, but the Rangers will be o.k. without him.

The Rangers have dealt 19-year old switch-hitting outfielder Desmond Henry to the Royals to complete the deal for Tommy Hottovy.  Henry only played in 2 games in Rookie-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg, .333 OPS) with 1 run scored.  Henry played in 25 games in his two years in the minors for the Rangers and he was 8 for 61 (.131 avg, .405 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Rangers, but Henry is still really young….so he could develop down the road for the Royals.

The Indians have returned 24-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris McGuiness to the Texas Rangers.  He was plucked away from the Rangers in last winter’s Rule 5 Draft.  McGuiness played in 123 games in AA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 122 of 456 (.268 avg, .840 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 23 homers and 77 RBIs.  He has now played in 350 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 332 of 1,275 (.260 avg, .814 OPS) with 175 runs scored, 51 homers, 212 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.