Texas Rangers option Michael Choice, assign Martire Garcia to minor league camp

The Texas Rangers have optioned Michael Choice, Luke Jackson and Jerad Eickhoff to AAA, and have sent Pat Cantwell, Martire Garcia, and Alec Asher to the minor league camp.

Procedurally, the only difference between being optioned and being assigned to the minor league camp is that the players who are optioned are on the 40 man roster, while the players who are re-assigned are on minor league deals.

There are no huge shocks today, although Choice and Garcia were guys who were seen as having an outside shot of making the team coming into spring training.  Choice made the Rangers out of spring training last year, but struggled mightily in his time with the big club in 2014, ultimately getting sent back to AAA.  Choice was considered to be in the mix for either the starting left field job or the platoon DH/RH bench bat job, but clearly is behind Ryan Rua, Jake Smolinski and Ryan Ludwick.

Garcia, meanwhile, was one of four lefthanded relievers in camp, and was a potential darkhorse candidate to make the major league pen.  With Garcia going down and Michael Kirkman being released today, however, the Rangers are down to two lefty relievers in the major league camp -- Alex Claudio and Joe Beimel.