Rangers submit Opening Day roster to MLB

No surprises accompanied the Opening Day roster the Texas Rangers submitted Sunday morning to Major League Baseball.

The Rangers held firm on their plan of having four starters, eight relievers and four bench players, in addition to the nine regulars, on their 25-man roster Monday against the Seattle Mariners.

The roster will likely hold that construction until Friday, when the fifth starter is needed for the first time.

A.J. Griffin remains the odds-on favorite for the job even though was assigned to Triple A Round Rock. Right-hander Phil Klein was told Saturday that he would take the last spot on the roster as the long man in the bullpen.

Four players will open on the 15-day disabled list — right-hander Yu Darvish (right elbow), outfielder Josh Hamilton (left knee), catcher Chris Gimenez (left leg infection) and righty Luke Jackson (back). The Gimenez move is retroactive to March 27, and the other three can be back-dated to March 25.

The only player to open on the 60-day DL is righty Tanner Scheppers (knee).

The roster breakdown is as follows:

Starting pitchers: LHP Cole Hamels, LHP Martin Perez, RHP Colby Lewis, LHP Derek Holland.

Relievers: RHP Shawn Tolleson, RHP Sam Dyson, LHP Jake Diekman, RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, RHP Tony Barnette, RHP Keone Kela, LHP Andrew Faulkner, RHP Phil Klein.

Catchers: Robinson Chirinos, Bryan Holaday.

Infielders: Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Mitch Moreland, Rougned Odor, Hanser Alberto, Prince Fielder.

Outfielders: Ian Desmond, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Ryan Rua, Justin Ruggiano.

15-day disabled list: RHP Yu Darvish, OF Josh Hamilton, C Chris Gimenez, RHP Luke Jackson.

60-day DL: RHP Tanner Scheppers.

This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Rangers submit Opening Day roster to MLB."