Sborz recalled as 27th man for doubleheader

The Texas Rangers have recalled relief pitcher Josh Sborz to be the 27th man on the active roster for Sunday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees.

As we mentioned on Friday, when the Friday game was called very early in the day due to rain and rescheduled as part of a Sunday doubleheader, one of the advantages of calling the game so early was that it allowed the Sunday doubleheader to be set with at least 48 hours notice. Under the MLB rules, for a doubleheader scheduled at least 48 hours ahead of time, teams have the ability to have a 27th player on the active roster for the doubleheader.

I had speculated yesterday that Sam Huff might be the 27th man, since it would potentially allow the Rangers to use Mitch Garver or Jonah Heim as a DH or pinch hitter and reduce the chances of one of them having to catch all of one game and a significant chunk of another, but once Huff was in the Round Rock lineup we knew that wouldn’t be the case. Instead it is Sborz, who started the year on the active roster, landed on the injured list, went on a rehab assignment, and then was activated and optioned on May 1. Since Sborz has not spent the full ten days in the minors on his optional assignment, he will have to be sent back down after today’s games, I believe.

For the Yankees, the 27th man will be outfielder Estevan Florial, who they have recalled from AAA Wilkes-Barre.