The Rangers have designated 39-year old righty reliever/starter Derek Lowe for assignment.  Lowe pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.  Lowe has now pitched in 681 games (377 starts) in his first 17 years in the majors and he is 176-157 with 86 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  I don’t think the Rangers are going to miss Lowe at all moving forward, as he’s appears to be near the end of the line.

The Texas Rangers have placed 30-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 18th due to a strained intercostal muscle.  Kinsler has played in 40 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 49 for 162 (.302 avg, .869 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 7 homers, 20 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Rangers have called up 20-year old switch-hitting SS/2B Jurickson Profar to replace Kinsler on the active roster.  Profar played in 37 games in AAA-ball this year for the Rangers and he was 40 for 144 (.278 avg, .807 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Profar has now played in 341 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 361 of 1,306 (.276 avg, .816 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 34 homers, 169 RBIs and 53 stolen bases.  He got his first taste of the majors in 2012 for the Rangers, appearing in 9 games in which he was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .647 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.  Profar came into this season as the Rangers’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America.  That being said, the Rangers are still going to miss Kinsler.

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.