Joe Saunders activated, Aaron Poreda optioned

Texas Rangers transactions:  Lefthanded pitcher Joe Saunders has been activated from the disabled list and added to the 25 man roster.  Saunders will start for Texas tonight.

To make room for Saunders on the 25 man roster, the Rangers have optioned lefthanded reliever Aaron Poreda to AAA Round Rock.

I do not believe this move is a surprise -- we knew Saunders would be activated today, and with Robbie Ross joining Neal Cotts in the bullpen, Poreda became the third lefty in the pen, and thus expendable.

The Rangers will have to make another move in a week or so, when Tanner Scheppers is expected to be activated from the disabled list.  At that point, the most likely candidates to be dropped would be long reliever Scott Baker and middle reliever Shawn Tolleson.