Rangers make Minors 'pen promotions

ANAHEIM -- The Rangers have promoted a couple of their top right-handed relief prospects, moving Matt West to Triple-A Round Rock and Keone Kela to Double-A Frisco.

West, who is on the 40-man roster, was 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA and three saves in eight games for Frisco. In 13 1/3 innings, he allowed seven hits, two walks and struck out 10. He is pitching himself back into prospect status after missing almost all of last season because of Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.

Kela, a 12th-round pick out of Everett (Wash.) Community College, can throw a fastball in the high 90-mph range and occasionally hit 100. He was 0-1 with a 2.61 ERA at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach, allowing nine hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. Abel De Los Santos, who had a 1.69 ERA at Class A Hickory, replaced Kela at Myrtle Beach.

West will join two other hard-throwing relief prospects at Round Rock. Roman Mendez has a 1.69 ERA in eight appearances, and Lisalverto Bonilla has a 5.00 ERA. Kela hooks up in Frisco with Wilmer Font, who has a 2.92 ERA in 10 relief outings for the Roughriders. Mendez, Bonilla and Font are all on the 40-man roster.

All of these pitchers are candidates for the Rangers' bullpen at some point in the future. Daniel Bard remains another future candidate. The former Red Sox setup reliever, signed as a Minor League free agent in the offseason, remains on a throwing program in Arizona. He underwent shoulder surgery on Jan. 2 to remove a rib bone that was pressing against a nerve in his arm.