Tony Barnette to get MRI

Texas Rangers pitcher Tony Barnette left last night’s game against the Houston Astros with one out in the top of the eighth inning with what was reportedly a shoulder issue. Barnette will reportedly undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

This is disappointing news for both Barnette, who has a 2.39 ERA in 26 IP on the season and has been particularly effective over the last month, and the Rangers, who appear likely to have a solid, versatile reliever land on the disabled list. The Rangers had dropped to a seven man bullpen yesterday when they optioned reliever Chris Martin to make room on the active roster for Ronald Guzman, who was activated from the disabled list. It seems likely that, rather than be shorthanded, the Rangers will put Barnette on the 10 day disabled list and recall Martin, whose demotion was a surprise, and was, according to Jeff Banister, the result of a roster crunch, and not performance related.