On Sunday, Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels hinted at some moves that were likely coming sooner rather than later to try to "shake things up" a bit after an awful start to the season.
On Monday, the first move happened as the Rangers sent down relief pitcher Roman Mendez and recalled Spencer Patton from Triple-A Round Rock.
Patton made his debut with the Rangers last season, and was pretty great down the stretch while the Rangers were closing the year with a 13-3 mark. He's been similarly great this year in Round Rock, sporting a nice, clean 0.96 ERA. Mendez showed promise last season, but has struggled at every turn this season. He's currently sporting a 5.40 ERA in 12 relief appearances and just can't get people out all the sudden.
Patton will hope to help stabilize what has been a remarkably bad bullpen, as the Rangers lead the league in blown leads. It was the first significant bullpen move this year, but it almost certainly isn't the last. Look for Alex Claudio to be the next casualty.
