Rangers notes: Final bullpen spots remain fluid with Tolleson, Scheppers

The days are dwindling but the Rangers’ bullpen is no closer to being finalized.

The deadline for teams to announce their 25-man rosters is 2 p.m. Sunday, the day before the Rangers season opener at Oakland.

As of Tuesday morning, Rangers manager Jeff Banister had announced 12 of his 13 position players, his five starting pitchers and closer Neftali Feliz.

That leaves six bullpen spots remaining with the health of Tanner Scheppers and Shawn Tolleson in question.

Scheppers and Tolleson were previously named as bullpen locks, but it seems more likely one or both could start the season on the disabled list.

Tolleson had been dealing with a sore forearm but has pitched the past two days in minor league games, including a perfect inning on seven pitches in a Triple A game Tuesday.

After an MRI showed nothing serious with his arm last week, Tolleson expected to be ready by the opener.

Scheppers, however, seems more likely to start on the DL. He returned to Arlington on Monday evening to have an MRI and have team physician Keith Meister examine his right ankle, which he injured in late February.

Banister hinted that he’s most likely to wait until Sunday before deciding on the bullpen.

“With Schepp, we’ll be patient, and see how Tolleson throws in the minor league game [Tuesday],” he said. “[Both have been] limited in the amount of innings in spring training, and we’re making sure that we stay on top of [it], and we think of long term versus short term the number of innings logged in spring training.”

Banister said multiple times this spring that he’ll consider a player’s health for a 162-game schedule over any possible short-term quick fix.

“We’re not making evaluations and judgments purely on a short-term basis,” he said.

Affiliate roster set

The Rangers announced the bulk of their minor league rosters Tuesday.

Among the pitchers headed to Triple A Round Rock are Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez, Luke Jackson, Nick Tepesch and Anthony Ranaudo, along with catcher Tomas Telis. Position players include Kyle Blanks, Michael Choice, Jared Hoying and Hanser Alberto.

Joey Gallo is headed back to Double A Frisco where he finished the 2014 season. Gallo is joined by catcher Jorge Alfaro, Tyler Pastornicky, Nomar Mazara and Nick Williams. Pitchers headed to Frisco include Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Andrew Faulkner and Jake Thompson.

Briefly

▪ SS Elvis Andrus (lower back stiffness) will resume baseball activities Wednesday. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

▪ INF Elliot Johnson was traded to the Dodgers for cash considerations.

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Rangers notes: Final bullpen spots remain fluid with Tolleson, Scheppers."