The Rangers have placed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Rich Harden on the 15-day disabled list with a gluteal strain. Harden has started 13 games this season and he is 3-3 with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has walked 43 batters and he has given up 14 homers in only 65 innings this season. Harden has whiffed 59 batters this season so the stuff is there but he needs to stay healthy, throw more strikes and keep the ball down in the strike zone to succeed. The Rangers have called up 26-year old righty reliever Alexi Ogando to replace Harden on the pitching staff. Ogando has pitched in 18 games (3 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 2.05 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. Ogando has only allowed 14 hits in 30 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 42 batters as he has been incredible in AAA. The Rangers hope he will be able to help them out in the bullpen.

The Rangers have traded 29-year old righty reliever Jailen Peguero to the Astros for future considerations. Peguero has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has walked 18 batters in only 24 innings this season which negates his 24 whiffs. He has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Whatever the Astros get back for Peguero will likely be worth it.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Feldman looked like a pitcher ready to break out in 2009. In 2009, Feldman pitched in 34 games (31 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. But this season Feldman is pitching a lot of batting practice. He has started 12 games for the Rangers this year and he is 3-6 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. He has given up 90 hits (9 homers) in only 70 2/3 innings this year. He could even be in danger of losing his spot in the starting rotation if he doesn’t improve soon.

Lefty swinging outfielder Rusty Greer was one of the better hitters in team history for the Texas Rangers despite his career getting cut short due to injuries. From 1996-1999, Greer played in 598 games for the Rangers in which he was 723 of 2,297 (.315 avg) with 422 runs scored, 80 homers, 396 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Greer played in 1,027 games in nine years with the Rangers and he was 1,166 of 3,829 (.305 avg, .865 OPS) with 643 runs scored, 119 homers, 614 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Greer is #10 all-time in games played (1,027) in Rangers’ history. He is also #8 in hits (1,166), #5 in batting average (.305), #7 in OPS (.865), #6 in runs scored (643), #7 in RBIs (614), #5 in doubles (258) and he is tied with Rafael Palmeiro for 7th in triples with 25. Greer was one of the most underrated hitters in baseball when he was with the Rangers.

24-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris Davis is getting back on track in AAA for the Rangers. He has played in 35 games in AAA this year and he is 41 of 140 (.293 avg, .828 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 5 homers and 29 RBIs. With Justin Smoak struggling with the Rangers in his first taste of the majors Davis could get called back up soon. Davis played in 15 games earlier this year for the Rangers and he was 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .556 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. The worst part about Davis earlier this year was his whiffing (17 times) which happens way too often. Still, if Davis is hitting a lot of bombs the Rangers would put up with the whiffs.