Elvis Andrus, Willie Calhoun head to IL

August 20th, 2020

The Texas Rangers announced the following roster moves prior to Thursday night’s game against the Padres in San Diego:

• Shortstop Elvis Andrus placed on the 10-day Injured List with a lower back strain.
• Outfielder Willie Calhoun on the 10-day Injured List with a left hamstring strain.
• Right-handed pitcher Kyle Cody (#73) recalled from Alternate Training Site.
• Infielder Yadiel Rivera (#33) selected from Alternate Training Site.

Andrus appeared in Wednesday’s 10-inning loss to the Padres, but he has not started for 3 straight games due to the lower back issues. He has batted .184 with no home runs and 3 RBI in 21 games for the Rangers this season.

Calhoun was injured on his go-ahead RBI infield single in the top of the 10th inning last night. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI and further evaluation today. The outfielder has batted .172 with 8 RBI in 18 games for the Rangers this season. This will be the second injured list stint of Calhoun’s career, as he was on the injured list from May 22-June 16, 2019 with a left quad strain.

The first date that both Andrus and Calhoun could return to the active roster is August 30.

Cody, 26, will be seeking his Major League debut. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound right-hander was added to the club's 60-man player pool and Summer Camp roster on July 20, when he was assigned to the Alternate Training Site. He threw a bullpen at the Alternate Site on Monday and last faced hitters in a live batting practice session on August 12. Cody did not appear in any of the Summer Camp intrasquad games, and did not pitch in Spring Training before the shutdown in March.

Cody had 'Tommy John' ligament replacement surgery on July 19, 2018, and missed all of the 2019 season before he was added to the Rangers 40-man Major League roster in November. He has pitched in just 2 regular season games since the start of 2018, as his last outing came with the Arizona League Rangers on July 10, 2018 at the AZL Padres 1 (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO). Cody finished the 2017 campaign with the Down East Wood Ducks in the High-A Carolina League, which is the highest level at which he has appeared in his career.

Rivera, 28, was a non-roster invitee to Rangers Major League Spring Training camp and has been with the Alternate Site group since he was assigned there on July 19. He batted .256 with one home run and 7 RBI in 16 intrasquad games with the Rangers during Summer Camp, this after a .423 average with one home run and 4 RBI over 17 games in Spring Training. Rivera will be seeking his Rangers debut after seeing MLB action over the last five seasons with Milwaukee (2015-17) and Miami (2018-19).

Cody and Rivera were both on the taxi squad for Rangers’ current roadtrip to San Diego and Seattle.