Rangers call up 2 'pen arms, designate Wandy

ARLINGTON -- Rangers manager Jeff Banister said it was difficult to see pitcher Wandy Rodriguez get designated for assignment on Wednesday.

"He did great work for us," Banister said. "I know the guy, the character, the competitor in Wandy. He took the ball for us. I think he knew the landscape, having two guys [Matt Harrison and Martin Perez] who would be coming back. He went out there and pitched as competitively as he could for us. He went to the bullpen, didn't question it or ask why. He is a true professional."

Rodriguez was designated for assignment on Wednesday and reliever Phil Klein was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. The move was made because the Rangers needed fresh arms in the bullpen. Left-hander Alex Claudio and right-hander Jon Edwards were called up. It will be the third time with the Rangers this season for both. They are part of a young group of relievers who have had to shuttle back and forth from Round Rock to keep the Major League bullpen from being depleted.

Klein has also been a part of that shuttle. He was called up on Monday and pitched five innings over two games. He pitched three innings on Tuesday night in the Rangers' 21-5 loss to the Yankees. But he was going to be unavailable for the next few days so he was sent back to Round Rock.

"It's a tough deal, pitching back-to-back nights," Banister said. "One was the one guy who fared better than the other guys. He really saved us. It allowed us to hold on to the two guys [Keone Kela and Shawn Tolleson] who didn't pitch for us. Throwing 255 pitches is not how you draw it up."

Claudio is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 18 appearances with the Rangers this season. He has a 2.17 ERA in 22 outings with Round Rock. Edwards has a 6.00 ERA in 11 relief appearances with the Rangers and a 1.80 ERA in 27 appearances with Round Rock. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 19 saves while holding opponents to a .202 batting average.