Texas Rangers probable pitchers: Cole Hamels starts Tuesday

Texas Rangers probable pitchers: Cole Hamels, who was scratched from his start this past Thursday due to a stiff neck, is expected to start on Tuesday at home against the New York Yankees and Domingo German. At one point it appeared that Hamels might start this past Friday or Saturday, but the team is effectively skipping this start for him, as Tuesday is when he would have pitched again on normal rest if he had started on Thursday as originally scheduled.

Bartolo Colon will be pitching for the Rangers on Monday against Yankee starter Masahiro Tanaka, while Doug Fister will be going Wednesday in the finale against the Yankees, with lefty C.C. Sabathia starting for New York.

This leaves as an unknown who will be starting for Texas against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. Texas starts a four game set at home against Kansas City then, and that’s when the Rangers would need a fifth starter again, after Ariel Jurado was called up to make a spot start in that slot yesterday. Jeff Banister indicated that Austin Bibens-Dirkx or Yohander Mendez are under consideration. Bibens-Dirkx is not on the 40 man roster, while Mendez is, though the Rangers could fairly easily open up a 40 man spot if they wanted to in order to add Bibens-Dirkx, either by dropping Brandon Mann or Kevin Jepsen from both the active and 40 man roster, or by DFAing Eliezer Alvarez, currently on the 40 man roster and at AA Frisco.

The Rangers will need to make another 25 man and 40 man roster move later this month when Tim Lincecum, who is currently on a rehab assignment while on the 60 day d.l., is activated.