Rangers roster carousel keeps spinning as the Chris Paddack era comes to an end as quickly as it began

Yesterday we saw a flurry of roster moves by the Texas Rangers, including the uninspiring signing of veteran journeyman Chris Paddack. The 30-year-old quickly got the call to be the bulk man that same night, following Tyler Alexander's history-making "start."

To the surprise of many, Paddack performed reasonably well. He gobbled up four innings for the Rangers, allowing two earned runs while scattering seven hits and allowing zero walks. In a game that it seemed Texas was punting, he was one of the key forces that brought in the win.

But after just one day, Paddack finds himself on the way out. The Rangers have designated him for assignment to clear space to recall Gavin Collyer from Round Rock. Unless the veteran surprises us and accepts the demotion, his time with the organization will be coming to an end just as quickly as it began.

Chris Paddack got the boot because the Rangers need as many fresh arms as possible during this grueling stretch

The Rangers didn't have to DFA Paddack necessarily. The club called up top prospect Winston Santos from Double-A Frisco on June 24, but hasn't yet given him the opportunity to pitch. The flip side of this is that the team is in the midst of a daunting 15 games in 15 days stretch, so having as many fresh arms as possible is imperative.

Therefore, Paddack's workload on Monday meant he would have been burnt for the next few days, while Santos and now Collyer can soak up innings now if needed.

Collyer spent six weeks in the bigs from April 15 through May 31 and showed some flashes. He made 18 appearances and tossed 17 innings while posting a 3.71 ERA. That doesn't tell the whole story, however. The 25-year-old walked batters at an 18.4% clip, which is bad any way you slice it. The silver lining was that his arsenal, headlined by a 97.7 miles per hour fastball, proved difficult to hit, yielding just a .175 batting average against.

Technically still a prospect, Collyer's performance was enough to make him a riser, entering Baseball America's top 30 Rangers' prospects in May, coming in at No. 20. There's an added benefit that he has more upside than Paddack, though he can't make a spot start the way Paddack could.

The bigger takeaway here is that this kind of maneuvering will continue over the next couple of weeks. Texas will continue to cycle pitchers through, so don't get too attached to any of the bottom of the depth chart guys.

Moreover, this opens yet another 40-man roster spot. The Rangers currently have 38 of the 40 slots filled, setting the scene for future signings or potentially a trade. There's another shoe that will drop; we just don't know what it will be yet.

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