Ther Rangers acquired another arm for the Bullpen today in a trade with the Yankees acquiring Edwar Ramirez

The Rangers front office today went out and obtained Edwar Ramirez for cash considerations. Ramirez could possibly make the big league roster out of spring training to help solidify the bullpen. He is the type of player who fits into the 2010 roster quite well.  He struggled in 2009 with the Yankees, even finishing the year at Triple A, although in 2008 he posted a 5-1 record with a .355 era with 63 strikeouts. So he has quite the upside for an affordable price.

In Joe Girardi’s first year as the Yankees manager, Ramirez was his go to, middle innings guy who could get strikeouts in tough situations. Even with Ramirez’s success the Yankees faltered and so the next year they made their bullpen stronger. So when they broke camp and Ramirez started to struggle he was shipped to Triple A for someone else to step up and take his place. When the Yankees signed Chan Ho Park early in spring training, they had to make room for him, so they designated Ramirez for assignment so that Park could take his spot on the forty man roster.

The Rangers may be a good option for him because they are not going to expect him to be perfect for an entire season. If he were to struggle though, the Rangers could always option him to Triple A Oklahoma City Red Hawks since he has one minor league option year left. So he could be sent down to the minors without the risk of him being claimed off of waivers. They only way that Ramirez could be subject to waivers if the Rangers tried to remove him from the 40 man roster at anytime during the season.

Jarrod Saltlamacchia may have had somewhat of setback today, he is experiencing pain around the incision from his off season surgery. It could just be somewhat sore as he gets his arm back into shape. The hope is that it is nothing more than lingering effects from the surgery and not something more serious such as a muscle strain around the incision.  As it gets closer to opening day his status should become clearer, although this might give Taylor Teagarden an advantage to get the starting catcher position.