Bibens-Dirkx to start tomorrow, Ross rehab start Saturday

The Texas Rangers’ starting pitcher on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays will be Austin Bibens-Dirkx, the club announced today. Bibens-Dirkx will be starting in place of A.J. Griffin, who was placed on the disabled list over the weekend with a strained intercostal muscle.

Dillon Gee was called up from AAA Round Rock to take Griffin’s place on the active roster, and I think the assumption had been that Gee would start on Wednesday. However, Gee is apparently going to be in a long man role, and Bibens-Dirkx will make his first major league start.

The Rangers have three off days in the first eight days of June, and so it is possible that this will be the only time in the next two weeks that Griffin’s spot in the rotation will need to be used, depending on if the Rangers opt to use the off days to skip this spot. In that case, this could be a one-off start for Bibens-Dirkx, with Tyson Ross — who should be activated from the disabled list soon — sliding into this spot going forward.

UPDATE — Tyson Ross will make a rehab start Saturday, June 3, per the beat guys on Twitter. That would put him on track to potentially start for the Rangers on June 9 in Washington.