Joe Saunders talked himself back into the Rangers’ rotation last month following an injury, saying that he didn’t want to take on a bullpen role, but after going 0-5 with a 6.18 ERA in eight starts overall this season Texas has designated the left-hander for assignment.
Saunders was once a decent back-of-the-r0tation starter for the Angels and Diamondbacks, but he’s now 11-21 with a 5.42 ERA in 40 starts since the beginning of last season and coughed up four homers last night against the Orioles.
Given his platoon splits and overall ineffectiveness as a starter switching from the rotation to the bullpen could potentially prolong Saunders’ career, so it’ll be interesting to see if getting let go by the Rangers helps him recognize that at age 33.
In the meantime right-hander Miles Mikolas has been called up from Triple-A to take Saunders’ spot in the rotation and will start Wednesday.