The Texas Rangers today announced plans to recall the following four players from Triple-A Round Rock before tomorrow's series opener against the Houston Astros in Arlington: infielder Hanser Alberto, right-handed pitcher Nick Martinez, left-handed pitcher Yohander Mendez, and catcher Brett Nicholas.
With the addition of these four players, the Rangers will have 29 players on the active roster for Friday's game.
Alberto will be in his third stint with Texas this season, the others from Opening Day-June 3 and July 20-August 2. He has batted .150 (7-40) with a double and 4 RBI in 25 games with the Rangers this season, appearing at all four infield positions. Alberto has batted .275 (73-265) with 7 home runs and 36 RBI over 63 games with Round Rock. He compiled a .314 (33-105) average over 24 games with the Express in August following his second stint with the Rangers.
Martinez, 26, will be in his fifth stint with Texas this season, the others from April 16-24, June 14-July 8, July 26-27, and August 17-21. He has gone 1-3 with a 7.16 ERA (22 ER/27.1 IP) in 8 games/6 starts for the Rangers this season, allowing one run in 1.1 innings during the lone appearance of his last stint on August 20 at Tampa Bay. Martinez has a career 1.37 ERA (3 ER/19.2 IP) in 11 relief appearances in the major leagues. He has spent the bulk of the season with Round Rock, posting a 7-6 record with a 3.91 ERA (43 ER/99.0 IP) over 18 games/16 starts with Round Rock (AAA) this season, posting 67 strikeouts against 17 walks. Martinez posted 2.0 scoreless innings as a reliever in his last outing on Wednesday at Omaha. He also made one start for Double-A Frisco on July 9.
The 21-year-old Mendez will be seeking his major league debut. The left-hander has pitched at three levels of the Texas farm system in 2016, going 12-3 with a 2.19 ERA (27 ER/111. IP) over 24 games/21 starts with High-A High Desert, Frisco, and Round Rock. He was promoted to Round Rock on August 3 and has gone 4-1 with a 0.57 ERA (2 ER/31.1 IP) and 22 strikeouts over 7 games/4 starts. He has held Pacific Coast League opponents to a .119 (12-101) batting average, including a .074 (2-27) figure by left-handed hitters.
Nicholas, 27, will be in his 2nd stint with the Rangers this season, as he was also with the club from April 10-May 3. He made his major league debut on April 11 at Seattle and has batted .257 (9-35) with 2 home runs and 4 RBI over 10 games with Texas this year. Nicholas has spent the balance of the season with Round Rock, batting .288 (115-400) with 27 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs, and 58 RBI in 101 games with the Express.
With these transactions, the Rangers will still have 39 players on the club's major league roster.
DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE RANGERS ADVANCE TO FINALS: The Dominican Summer League Rangers1 team outlasted the DSL Red Sox 2-1 in 11 innings today to sweep the series 3-games-to-none. The DSL Rangers have advanced to the DSL Championship Series for the 4th consecutive year and for the first time under manager Carlos Cardoza, who is in his first year with the organization.