Houston, Texas — The Texas Rangers announced prior to Wednesday’s road trip finale in Houston that the club has activated left-handed pitcher Cole Ragans from the 15-day Injured List and optioned right-handed pitcher A.J. Alexy to Triple-A Round Rock.  Ragans is scheduled to start tonight’s game against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Ragans was on the 15-day Injured List from August 23-September 6 with a left calf strain.  He threw a live batting practice session on Saturday at Fenway Park in preparation for tonight’s start.  Ragans has a 0-2 record with a 4.42 ERA over 4 games/starts with Texas since having his contract selected from Round Rock on August 4, his first career MLB action.  His last Major League outing came in a start on August 22 at Minnesota (4.0 IP, 1 R-ER).  He combined to go 8-5 with a 3.04 ERA in 18 games/starts for Frisco (AA) and Round Rock over the season’s first four months prior to his promotion to the big leagues.

Alexy’s only appearance after being recalled on August 30 came on Friday at Boston (2.1 IP, 2 R-ER).  He is 1-0 over 3 relief appearances with Texas this season, allowing 5 runs/earned runs in 6.2 innings spanning three stints with the Rangers: July 13-16, August 19-22, and August 30-September 6.  He has spent the balance of the campaign at Round Rock, going 6-5 with a 6.16 ERA over 26 games/16 starts.

Following today’s transactions, the Rangers currently have 28 active players along with 39 players on the Major League roster and three players (Mitch Garver, Josh Sborz, Eli White) on the 60-day Injured List.