Rangers continue to seek right bullpen mix

The bullpen shuffle continued Thursday with the Texas Rangers, who shipped out right-hander Phil Klein and lefty Alex Claudio to Triple A Round Rock for righties Anthony Bass and Luke Jackson.

Bass was on the Opening Day roster and spent the entire season with the Rangers until July 27, when he was optioned to Round Rock after pitching the previous two days. He will resume his spot as the Rangers’ long man, a role in which he has been effective.

Bass is 0-0 with 38 strikeouts and a 4.35 ERA in 26 appearances covering 51 2/3 innings this season with the Rangers.

Jackson was selected with the 45th overall pick in 2010 and had been a starting pitcher in the minors until early this season. Since moving to the bullpen, he has posted a 3.11 ERA with an opponents batting average of .187.

Jackson joins newcomers Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman as relievers who routinely hit 95 mph or higher.

“He’s been really good out of the ’pen, especially the last couple of weeks,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “He’s always had great stuff. Now, we have an opportunity to take a look and see if this is the role that sparks him.”

Jackson, who was in big league spring training for the first time this year, will be seeking his major league debut.

Even though the Rangers’ bullpen fared well the past two games, it still has the worst ERA (4.68) in the majors.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Rangers continue to seek right bullpen mix."