The Rangers have claimed 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Joe Benson off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.  Benson played in 42 games in AAA-ball for the Twins this year and he was 29 for 151 (.192 avg, .541 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Benson’s only major league experience came back in 2011 with the Twins.  He played in 21 games for the Twins in 2011 and he was 17 for 71 (.239 avg, .622 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Benson will have to show something in AAA-ball before the Rangers give him another shot at the show.

The Texas Rangers have signed 31-year old lefty swinging OF/3B Mark Teahan to a minor league deal.  He played in 22 games earlier this year in AAA-ball for the Diamondbacks and he is 15 of 71 (.211 avg, .571 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs.  Teahan last played in the majors back in 2011 with the White Sox and Blue Jays.  Teahan has played in 831 games in his seven years in the majors and he was 759 of 2,873 (.264 avg, .736 OPS) with 388 runs scored, 67 homers, 332 RBIs and 45 stolen bases.

23-year old lefty reliever Robbie Ross continues to dominate in 2013 in his second year in the majors.  He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Rangers so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.42 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.  Ross has now pitched in 78 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Rangers and he was 8-0 with a 1.77 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  The Rangers were tempted to turn Ross into a starting pitcher in spring training, but they were smart to keep him in the pen where he can continue to dominate.

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.

UPDATE:  (5/23/2013) - Derek Lowe has been released by the Texas Rangers.

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.

Righty swinging catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was an outstanding catcher for the Texas Rangers.  He had a rocket launcher attached to his right shoulder and he was a pretty solid hitter.  Rodriguez’ best season for the Rangers came in 1999 when he was the MVP of the American League.  Rodriguez played in 144 games for the Rangers in 1999 and he was 199 for 600 (.332 avg, .914 OPS) with 116 runs scored, 35 homers, 113 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.  He played in 1,507 games in his 13 years with the Rangers and he was 1,747 of 5,754 (.304 avg, .828 OPS) with 866 runs scored, 217 homers, 842 RBIs and 81 stolen bases.  Rodriguez is still #4 in games played (1,507) in Rangers’ history.  He is also #2 in hits (1,747), #2 in doubles (352), tied for 4th in triples (28), #7 in batting average (.307), #9 in OPS (.828), #4 in runs scored (866), #4 in homers (217) and #4 in RBIs (842) in Rangers’ history.  In his 13 years with the Rangers, Rodriguez was an All-Star 10 times, he won 10 Gold Gloves and he won 6 Silver Slugger Awards.

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 placed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Alexi Ogando on the 15-day disabled list due to biceps tendinitis.  Ogando has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Rangers so far this year and he is 4-2 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  Ogando has now pitched in 142 games (39 starts) in his first four years with the Rangers and he is 23-11 with 3 saves, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  The Rangers have called up 25-year old righty reliever Cory Burns to replace Ogando on the active roster.  Burns has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers so far this year and he is 0-1 with 8 saves, a 1.38 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  He has given up 12 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 18 batters in his first 13 innings this year in the minors, which is pretty impressive.  Burns pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year in his first taste of the majors and he is 0-1 with a 5.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.

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.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Yu Darvish is looking like the pitcher they thought he would be when they signed him a couple years ago out of Japan.  Darvish has started 8 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP.  He only gave up 30 hits and 18 walks while whiffing 80 batters in his first 52 2/3 innings for the Rangers.  Darvish has now pitched in 37 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Rangers and he is 22-10 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Darvish could make a real run at the Cy Young Award in 2013 as long has he keeps throwing a lot of strikes.  His control looks improved so far in 2013 and they need for that to continue.