Per T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers made a few roster moves today, which were expected.
↵Michael Kirkman’s abysmal performance Tuesday night was enough for him to be sent down to AAA, and Brett Tomko has been called up to try his hand at being near the bottom of the bullpen depth chart. For his career, Tomko has not been too bad, fringing on mediocre, mostly as a starter, and could provide something. Though, he’s also on the wrong side of his 30s at this point, and hasn’t pitched since 2009 when he put up a 5.40 FIP with the Yankees and A’s (though a 4.63 xFIP and 3.77 ERA).
↵He’s not likely to be anything special, but also worth giving a shot. If he’s able to be better than a scrub, he has a place at the back of the Rangers’ bullpen. The difficulty with Tomko is giving him a spot on the 40 man roster, so someone (Adam Morris suggests Wilmer Font or Brandon Webb) is going to have to go on the 60 day disabled list.
↵For those who have just jumped on the Rangers bandwagon following the World Series run, Taylor Teagarden was once a good catching prospect who, like all Rangers’ catching prospects (other than Jorge Alfaro eventually), became a disappointment. In Teagarden’s case, a massive one. Teagarden, in his short career, has managed to miss the pitch on more than one of every six he has swung at, and has struck out on more than two of every five at bats. His career .311 weighted On Base average is not actually that bad, but is bolstered by an unreal 42.9% HR/FB rate in his first 16 games.
↵In other words, this is just roster churning, not moves likely to help the Rangers much. Teagarden will be a back-up who you hope rarely plays, and allows Ron Washington to be a little more flexible with Mike Napoli. Napoli will probably now play more against righties in positions that would have been given to Chris Davis (which begins to make me wonder why Davis is even up).
↵To make room for Teagarden, Mason Tobin will be placed on the 15 day disabled list. He will be missed by his family.