Rangers cautious with Uehara

OAKLAND -- The Rangers' plan to activate reliever Koji Uehara off the disabled list on Tuesday was scuttled when Uehara reported some stiffess in the lat muscle in his right rib cage after pitching a scoreless inning for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday night.

Uehara felt good after the game, but the stiffness set in on Sunday.

"We're not going to push it," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Once we take him off the disabled list, if something happens to him, he has to go back on for another 15 days."

The Rangers do not believe Uehara reinjured the muscle. They just feel he needs more time and he's not expected to throw for a couple of days.

"It might be just 3-4-5 days, just so he can let us know that he's good," Washington said. "It might not be anything. At least he's staying in communication and letting us know how he feels. Once he let us know about this, we shut him down."

Uehara is expected to pitch at least once more time on rehab assignment before he's activated. He has been sidelined since June 10 after posting a 2.10 ERA in his first 20 outings."