Beltre won’t be on 2019 roster, but here are some who will after Rangers make moves

The Texas Rangers biggest news of the day centered on Adrian Beltre calling it a career on Tuesday.

But the Rangers had more business to take care of later in the day with the MLB deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters at 7 p.m. in advance of next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

The Rangers selected the contracts of four players from their minor league rosters — RHP Edinson Volquez and OF Scott Heineman from Triple A Nashville, and RHP Wei-Chieh Huang and LHP Taylor Hearn from Double A Frisco.

Those moves pushed the Rangers’ 40-man roster to 37 and all were expected.

Volquez should be in next year’s rotation; Heineman could’ve been a September call-up; Huang is the return from the Jake Diekman trade; and Hearn is the return for the Keone Kela trade.

All are now protected from the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place on the final day of baseball’s winter meetings (Dec. 13). Rule 5 eligibility is dependent on the age at which a player signed and that player’s experience.

Other moves announced by the Rangers:

▪ Veteran catcher Jeff Mathis officially signed his two-year contract. Mathis’ contract is worth $6.25 million. Mathis, 35, is known for his defense and spent the past two seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

▪ The Rangers acquired infielder Jack Reinheimer from the Chicago Cubs on a waiver claim.

▪ Right-handed pitchers Eddie Butler and Ronald Herrera were assigned outright to Triple A Nashville.