Drew Hutchison activated, Austin Bibens-Dirkx optioned

Texas Rangers transactions: Drew Hutchison, signed yesterday by the Rangers, has been added to the 25 man roster officially today, the team announced. To make room for Hutchison on the roster, the Rangers have optioned pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx to AAA Round Rock.

We talked about the Hutchison signing yesterday, and I speculated that Ariel Jurado might be going down, since Hutchison was joining the rotation. Instead, it is Bibens-Dirkx who goes, which suggests that either the Rangers are going with a six man rotation for the time being, or someone in the rotation is going to the pen. I would guess, at this point, the former, given that no one currently in the rotation is a workhorse type that needs to start every fifth day, and the team is starting a stretch of games with no days off.

With the optioning of Bibens-Dirkx, assuming none of the rotation members are going to the pen, the bullpen now consists of seven pitchers — Jose Leclerc, Cory Gearrin, Jeffrey Springs, Alex Claudio, Chris Martin, Eddie Butler and Matt Moore. Springs, Claudio, Butler and Moore are all guys who can go multiple innings, which helps makes Bibens-Dirkx, who was basically a long man, expendable. Bibens-Dirkx will likely be back in September when rosters expand, if not before.