Lefty reliever Andrew Faulkner among Rangers first camp cuts

The Rangers have made their first cuts of the spring and at least one came as a surprise.

Left-handed reliever Andrew Faulkner, who was on the Opening Day roster a year ago, was one of six players optioned or assigned to the minors. Faulkner, left-hander Yohander Mendez and right-hander Connor Sadzeck were optioned to Triple A Round Rock. Left-hander Adam Loewen, and right-handers Ariel Jurado and Jose Valdespina were assigned to minor league camp.

Faulkner has pitched in two games (1 inning) with a walk and no strikeouts this spring. The others have mostly struggled early in spring action. Sadzeck, a starter, has allowed two runs in four innings. Mendez, Loewen and Jurado have all allowed at least four earned runs in less than  3 2/3 innings apiece.

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Lefty reliever Andrew Faulkner among Rangers first camp cuts."