Rangers option Mendez, call up Patton
GM Daniels believes he could have done a better job building bullpen
HOUSTON -- Rangers general manager Jon Daniels admitted the one thing he could have done better this offseason was put together a stronger bullpen. The Rangers were counting on a number of young arms to have an impact out of the bullpen, but that hasn't happened.
"We didn't spend much on the bullpen, and that was by design and by function of what we spent in the past. The decisions I made in the past," Daniels said. "We were relying on young arms stepping up bigger, but the bullpen has been hit and miss. That is one area I look at where I could have done a better job of providing some weapons."
Roman Mendez was one of the big arms the Rangers were counting on, but he had a 5.40 ERA before being optioned back to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday. The Rangers called up right-hander Spencer Patton to take his place. Patton, acquired last summer in a trade for veteran pitcher Josh Frasor, had a 0.96 ERA in eight appearances at Round Rock.
"We feel like we need to throw strikes out of the bullpen and throw competitive pitches out of the bullpen," manager Jeff Banister said. "We needed another arm out there to give us that opportunity. Roman sparked [us] for a couple of games and I believe Roman is one of those pitchers who can help us win in the end. We felt right now we needed another look, and Patton has been throwing the ball well."
Worth noting:
• Leonys Martin was taken out of the leadoff spot on Monday night and replaced by Shin-Soo Choo. Martin went 5-for-26 with eight strikeouts in his last six games. Said Banister, "We have seen [Choo] spark us with some at-bats, especially his on-base [percentage]. That's what we need at the top of the lineup. Leonys had done a good job and has backed off. We have been here a month and gone through the evaluation process. We need production out of these guys. It's time to start doing things in games that lead to [wins] for us."
• Adam Rosales started at second base on Monday. Banister said he would like to give struggling second baseman Rougned Odor some time off to work with hitting coach Dave Magadan and, "see if that can get him going in the right direction."
• The Rangers returned right-handed pitcher Logan Verrett to the Mets. He was a Rule 5 Draft pick who was designated for assignment by the Rangers on April 24.