ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers signed right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Nashville, the club announced Monday.
The 27-year-old spent all of spring training with Texas before his Triple-A assignment. Sampson went 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) and 1.085 WHIP over six games with two starts. Opposing batters were held to .224 batting average and a .596 OPS with four walks and 13 strikeouts.
To make room for Sampson on the active roster, the Rangers optioned lefty Kyle Bird to Nashville, and to accommodate Sampson on the 40-man roster, transferred southpaw Yohander Mendez from the 10-day to 60-day injured list.
Bird had two relief appearances in the season-opening three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, posting 1.0 scoreless innings over those appearances. Mendez was diagnosed with a grade one sprain of his UCL in his left elbow after leaving a start versus Arizona on March 17. Mendez was not scheduled to throw for six weeks after the injury.
The Rangers’ roster remains at the 40-man limit on the major league roster, along with three players on the 60-day injured list: Mendez, RHP Luke Farrell, and OF Scott Heineman.