Taveras, Refsnyder among 7 final roster members announced

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward announced after tonight’s exhibition that Joe Palumbo, Kolby Allard and Ian Gibaut have made the Opening Day roster in the bullpen, while Leody Taveras, Ronald Guzman, Scott Heineman and Rob Refsnyder are the final picks for the bench.

Refsnyder and Gibaut are not on the 40 man roster, nor is Edinson Volquez, who was named to the roster earlier this week. With two open 40 man spots, the Rangers will need to make a move to free a slot up. Yohander Mendez seems the most likely casualty.

Heineman had a strong spring and summer, and seemed like a pretty solid bet to make the squad. Taveras has impressed and is the team’s best defensive outfielder, and thus gives them a late inning defensive option off the bench. Guzman seems likely to be a defensive replacement at first base, while Refsnyder also provides bench depth.

Greg Bird, who was vying with Guzman for a spot, did not make the team and will be in the alternate pool of players who can be activated at some point but aren’t on the active roster. Taylor Hearn, who was expected to claim a bullpen job, also misses the cut.

The Rangers are starting with a 30 man roster, though that will drop to 28 two weeks from Friday, and then down to 26 two weeks after that. In addition, lefthanders Brett Martin and Joely Rodriguez should be able to be activated from the injured list fairly soon.