Matt Bush called up, Delino DeShields optioned

The Texas Rangers have purchased the contract of righthanded pitcher Matt Bush from AA Frisco, according to John Blake on Twitter.  To make room for Bush on the 25 man roster, the Rangers have optioned Delino DeShields.

The news that Bush was coming up broke earlier, and we talked about it here, with Tepid offering his take on Bush here.  So we aren't going to re-hash Bush coming up again.

No, the interesting news here is that Delino DeShields has been sent down to make room for Bush.   Last year's Rule 5 pick from the Houston Astros took over the starting center field job in 2015 early in the season from incumbent Leonys Martin, but he has struggled so far in 2016, putting up a .217/.294/.302 line in 121 plate appearances, with just 4 steals in 7 attempts.  DeShields has had a number of mental errors, as well, which had led to him seeing less playing time of late, with Ian Desmond getting more innings in center.  DeShields has also been striking out at an alarming rate, fanning 32 times against just 11 walks.

The signing of Drew Stubbs last weekend seemed to be a precursor to a potential DeShields demotion, as Stubbs provided the Rangers with a backup center fielder they would otherwise be missing.  I thought the Ranaudo move yesterday might have been to clear a 40 man roster spot for a AAA outfielder, which would result in DeShields being sent down...instead, it was used to add Bush, though the end result for DeShields is the same.

The Rangers are back to an 8 man bullpen -- or 9 man, if you count Cesar Ramos, who is expected to make a spot start for Texas on Sunday.  If the bullpen isn't heavily taxed this weekend, you could see a reliever sent down and a position player, such as Brett Nicholas, recalled to give the Rangers a four man bench again.  Either way, once Shin-Soo Choo returns, which it sounds like will be in the next week to ten days, Texas will likely maintain a four man bench at that point.