Edinson Volquez has made the team

Veteran righthanded pitcher Edinson Volquez will be on the Texas Rangers Opening Day roster, manager Chris Woodward said today. Volquez, 37, is in camp on a minor league deal, and had the right to opt out of his contract and become a free agent if the Rangers didn’t add him to the 40 man roster.

The Rangers now appear to have six of their bullpen spots set, with Jose Leclerc and Jesse Chavez guaranteed spots already, and Jonathan Hernandez, Luke Farrell and Nick Goody having been informed previously they have made the team. Joe Palumbo and Taylor Hearn appear to be likely to also make the 30 man Opening Day roster, with lefties Joely Rodriguez and Brett Martin expected to start the year on the injured list. Martin should be ready to go fairly soon after the start of the season, though, as should righty reliever Rafael Montero, who got a late start and needs extra time before he will be ready.

Volquez is expected to fill a long man role out of the pen. Rosters drop to 28 players after the first two weeks of the season, and then 26 men after that, so even setting aside the fact that Montero, Martin and Willie Calhoun will need roster spots when they come off the injured list in the first week or so, there will be guys who will have to be dropped simply because the roster size will be reduced.