Glenn Otto to start Friday

Not an official transaction as of yet, but the Texas Rangers announced today that Jon Gray was heading to the injured list with a mild strain of his MCL, a knee ligament. Chris Young apparently said that it is not expected to sideline him for long, and the hope is that he will miss just one start.

In the meantime, the Rangers are bringing up Glenn Otto to make a spot start on Friday against the Oakland A’s. He presumably will take the roster spot that will be vacated when Gray is officially placed on the injured list. Spencer Howard is slated to return from the injured list and start on Sunday, so Otto would potentially be sent down after he makes the spot start, with Howard being activated on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Dennis Santana seems likely to be activated at some point during the Oakland series. He was placed on the COVID list, and there was some thought he could be activated for today’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners. His return will create a decision for the Rangers, as Matt Moore is currently on the active roster, but is not on the 40 man roster, since Santana is on the COVID list, which allows the Rangers to have Moore up without adding him to the 40 man roster. Once Santana is activated, either Moore will have to be sent down, or he’ll have to be added to the 40 man roster and kept in the majors. There is currently an open spot on the 40 man roster, so the Rangers could add Moore to the 40 man without dropping someone else.