Rangers place Berkman and Tepesch on DL

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers sent Nick Tepesch and Lance Berkman to the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation and left hip inflammation, respectively, reinstated Joakim Soria from the 60-day DL and recalled Cory Burns from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Tepesch felt soreness in his elbow during his bullpen session Saturday. Rangers manager Ron Washington said the move was precautionary and the issue was not serious. He plans to use either Ross Wolf or Josh Lindblom to replace Tepesch in the rotation Wednesday against the Orioles.

"Any time anything like this happens, you don't want something like this to happen," Tepesch said. "I'm just going to work hard to get this better."

The Rangers now have four starting pitchers on the disabled list. They've talked to the Cubs about acquiring right-handed pitcher Matt Garza, someone the club had interest in previously. The Rangers are also interested in Brewers right-handed pitcher Yovani Gallardo.

Berkman injured his hip Saturday when he reached first safely on a ground ball. He said he strained the hip more in the sixth on Geovany Soto's three-run home run.

"When I went up there the next time left-handed, I could feel it but it wasn't as bad," the switch-hitting Berkman said. "In that at-bat [Soto] hit that home run, I thought it was a double at the time, so I took off. When I did, it grabbed even worse.

"It was hard for me to make it around the bases on that home run, which thankfully went out of the ballpark."

Berkman left the game in the seventh and said the injury felt terrible overnight. Berkman missed four games to start the nine-game homestand with a sore right knee. The injury occurred when he slipped on the stairs exiting the team plane on June 27.

"It gives him a chance to catch up with his knees, and his knees causing other things to flare up and put a Band-Aid on this and a Band-Aid on that," Washington said. "We just felt we needed to give him some time, so he can be productive for us."

The Rangers plan to use a three-man bench until the All-Star break. The club signed outfielder Manny Ramirez to a Minor League deal Wednesday, and he'll make his first start with Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. While Washington didn't mention Ramirez, he plans to fill the designated-hitter position by committee to rest some starters defensively. Washington mainly wants to protect his pitchers with the additions of Soria and Burns. Soria hasn't pitched in a Major League game since September 11, 2011. He had Tommy John surgery on April 3, 2012.

"I'm going to enjoy it," Soria said about his return to the Majors. "I love this game, and I love to do this. I don't think there will be any nerves because I've been expecting this for a while. I'm just happy to be back."

Burns will make his second stint with the Rangers this season. He had a wart removed from his finger and sat out for nearly three weeks. He has made three appearances with Triple-A Round Rock in his return, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Burns is 0-1 with a 1.05 ERA in 26 relief appearances for Round Rock.

"I came back off that nice and healthy," Burns said. "I've been activated for about a week and a half now so it feels good."