Nick Martinez up, Andrew Faulkner optioned

The Texas Rangers have recalled righthanded pitcher Nick Martinez, according to John Blake on Twitter.  To make room for Martinez on the 25 man roster, the Rangers have optioned lefthanded pitcher Andrew Faulkner to AAA Round Rock.

This isn't a particularly surprising move...Faulkner had a bad outing yesterday, allowing a pair of home runs after coming in in relief of Tom Wilhelmsen (who was fairly awful himself), and has not looked good in the regular season after being one of the best pitchers in spring training.  Faulkner, who had earned the role of the second lefty in the pen, will presumably go to Round Rock and work on getting back in a groove out of the pen.

My guess is that Martinez will be the long man in the Ranger bullpen for now, with Alex Claudio (who had replaced Phil Klein as the long man) taking over as the second lefty.  Martinez could end up with a multi-inning middle relief role, however, especially if the Rangers choose not to utilize Wilhelmsen in close games.  Wilhelmsen has been brutal so far this season, and they may choose to use him just in low-leverage situations while they work to get him back on track.

In the meantime, the question is whether Martinez is up as the long man for an extended period, or if the Rangers will opt to send Martinez back down and recall Phil Klein once his 10 day period since being optioned has run.