Who do you send down when Webb and Hunter come back?

C -- Yorvit Torrealba

C -- Mike Napoli

1B -- Mitch Moreland

2B -- Ian Kinsler

3B -- Adrian Beltre

SS -- Elvis Andrus

UIF/DH -- Michael Young

UIF -- Andres Blanco

LF -- Josh Hamilton

CF -- Julio Borbon

RF -- Nelson Cruz

OF -- David Murphy

SP -- C.J. Wilson

SP -- Colby Lewis

SP -- Matt Harrison

SP -- Alexi Ogando

SP -- Derek Holland

RP -- Neftali Feliz

RP -- Darren O'Day

RP -- Arthur Rhodes

RP -- Darren Oliver

RP -- Mark Lowe

RP -- Pedro Strop

RP -- Mason Tobin

RP -- Dave Bush

I'm REALLY glad Strop is going to get a good long look. I'm also happy for Mason Tobin, and for the scouting staff for acomplishing that rare feat of drafting a guy in Rule 5 who sticks on the roster. He must have shown the org something for them to clear out Treanor for him.

Obviously trying to guess as to who would be sent back down without anyone stepping foot in the Temple is a bit ridiculous. Having said that, I know it's just a discussion and who doesn't like to play GM. I think Lowe has to be one of them, so that way Ogando can come back to short relief. Then, even though I love this Tobin story, Mike Maddux loves Dave Bush. Harrison would move back into one of the long relief spots I would guess.

I'm begging out on this one ...Maybe absorb a bit.
Mason Tobin= what a story... next chapter waiting.
Really Proud of Ogando, Strop & Feliz
Amazing how the Club cut through the drama in ST
Graduation Day 2011
I'm going to observe & enjoy from here.
Expect the unexpected ... "that's baseball".

Webb? He's not going to be ready until June. Hunter will not be ready (or worth it) until late May.
First guy ready to come up will be Tomko.

Suspect that Ogando was put in the rotation because he is the easiest to move back to his set up role from a SP role ... so it rotation needs a boost Tomko will come up and Ogando will bump Lowe or Strop.

Way I figure it Lowe is kinda like a cardboard cutout.

@windingmywatch

Don't you think that if Ogando can't cut it in the rotation that he and Bush would just swap?

@Adam ... You might be right ... but I don't think the plan would be for Ogando and Bush to swap roles if Ogando were to falter. If Bush were capable of starting in TEX opinion ... he would already have that job and Ogando would be in his late inning role. In my opinion Bush is likely to be just the long guy with no swing role anticipated.

Also ... I don't think we should circle Ogando's name either as being the place holder in the rotation either. He could perform well ... in which case he changes the entire dynamics of how TEX handles the rest of the ML and AAA staffs.

Also ... TEX could have put Tomko in the rotation for opening day instead of Ogando ... but that would have meant leaving Tobin or Lowe off the 25man, forcing TEX into making a trade with LAA to keep Tobin, and the resulted in the first arm coming up from AAA if needed would be Kirkman or Hurley. There is some definite stability knowing that the first arm is ML-experienced and ready.

Ogando might be the jewel that anchors a stopper spot at #4 ... takes some of the pressure off Holland and Harrison ... and makes the 'top' guys in AAA have to win a spot not just have it given to them.

@Windingmywatch - I think if Nolan assumes he is just a "place holder", then we probably should as well. I do agree with you that if they thought Bush could be the #5 starter they would have just put him there, unless they want to really see what Ogando has since he has more upside.

http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110329&content_id=17184848&notebook_id=17184104&vkey=notebook_tex&c_id=tex

Never has a pitcher been given so much and earned so little as Mark Lowe.

I agree on Mark Lowe. I saw him pitch last year and have watched a few more recent videos, and he just doesn't look like he belongs in the big leagues. I don't get it.

Lowe had a bad postseason and a bad spring, but he's by no means historically significant. There are hundreds of pitchers worse than him to break spring training on a big league roster.

Two starter slots will be as a swinging door, untill the ASB.
One .500+ pitcher will lock down #5, with small accolades.
Ogando might be the big surprise, if his splt finger develops.

@PullT ... have found agreement in much you post ... but no way are there "... hundreds of pitchers worst than him [Lowe] to breat spring training on a big league roster".

Hundreds? There aren't many more than 360 pitchers total on all MLB rosters. So hard for hundreds to be worse even if he was good. I'd put the totality of Lowe's performance in a TEX uniform to be in the bottom 10% of all baseball. To my recollection there hasn't been a single outing late last season or this spring where he's given even a glimmer of any future value.

Lowe is #13 on the staff and is the reason why Matt Treanor now plays for KC.

@winding - I think Tobin is why Treanor got moved.

@Adam... that's what you would be led to believe ... but if you had to cut a pitcher right now based on performance its not going to be Tobin for sure. I can count at least 3 guys who had poorer ST than Tobin with Lowe the worst.

@windingmywatch...

He stated "never"...

Never encompasses a whole lot of years, a whole lot of teams and a whole lot of pitchers. If I take your "bottom 10%" at face value, how many pitchers have broken camp on a MLB roster? I'd say thousands...what is 10% of thousands?

Again, the guy stunk it up in a handful of innings for the Rangers in '10 and a handful of innings for the Rangers this spring, but it is not historically bad or anything.

"Never has a guy been given so much"...LOL He was given a spot at the back end of the bullpen, not a nine-figure contract or something.

@jd21 ... I am with you on your comment: "Never has a pitcher been given so much and earned so little as Mark Lowe."

@Pull_T ... oh okay ... I understand ... you are saying if we go back to 1892 that there are hundreds of pitchers over that period who have made the roster out of spring training who are worse than Lowe. I can buy that ... but given that historical record ... I still stick with my estimation that Lowe is in the bottom 10%.

Lowe is the definition of a spare pitcher. Teagarden is the definition of a spare catcher.

You know what they call a spare guy who is entering his sixth season?

A major leaguer.

Treanor is also a spare Catcher, for the record.

@Scooby ... Treanor and Teagarden aren't even closely comparable defensively ... which is the ultimate value of a catcher. Treanor was #40 ranked defensive catcher in MLB in 2010 ... Teagarden #93 ... Napoli #113. Torrealba was #6.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2010/11/10/1803183/2010-beyond-the-box-score-catcher-defense-rankings

I wouldn't call Treanor a spare ... Teagarden is a spare. What saves Napoli is he can hit. Most catchers have to make it on their defensive talent.