Frieri up, Cashner d.l.’d, O’Brien DFA’d

The Texas Rangers have placed Andrew Cashner on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. To replace him on the 25 man roster, the Rangers have purchased the contract of Ernesto Frieri. To clear a spot for Frieri on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have designated outfielder Pete O’Brien for assignment.

Cashner is expected to miss just the minimum 10 days, so the Rangers will presumably have Nick Martinez make a spot start with the hope Cashner will be able to jump back into the rotation.

Frieri is a righthander reliever who you might recall was very good for the Angels for a short period. He's been bad since 2014 and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2015, but the Rangers signed him to a minor league deal not long ago and apparently want to give him a look. Frieri has been plagued by the long ball in his struggles, and I'm not optimistic he's going to have success here, but hey, I guess we will see.

O’Brien was acquired by the Rangers after he was DFA’d a few weeks ago, and was optioned with the hope the minor league coaches could figure out how to get his bat fixed and untap his huge power. He has struggled, though, and now has gen days to be waived, traded or released.