Via BP's Will Carroll:

Comebacks from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome tend to involve a lot of time and things like having a rib removed. Saltalamacchia is avoiding all of that... for now. There are a lot of questions about whether he'll be able to avoid it altogether, but Salty is back swinging a bat and being watched closely. When rosters expand, it's possible that he could come back, though it seems that with Ivan Rodriguez already in place, the Rangers aren't counting on much from Saltalamacchia.

That's not such a bad thing, since it allows them to rest him, perhaps use him at DH, or to be part of what might look like a kitchen-sink attack in September, with the expected additions of Chris Davis, Justin Smoak, Max Ramirez, and a partridge in a pear tree. Every little bit helps, and if Salty is able to avoid the dreaded TOS surgery, the Rangers get even better for 2010.

The vibe one gets from the local beat writers is that Saltalamacchia isn't likely to make it back by September 1st, though his return might come soon thereafter. Should Pudge keep hitting like he is right now, however, Ron Washington is going to have an interesting problem on his hands in attempting to equitably allot playing time; Teagarden has actually boosted his park-adjusted wOBA to nearly .300 (.297, to be exact), but that's still not anything resembling an asset behind the plate, and right now Pudge is playing like a serious asset, with even a fair share of his outs being of the louder-than-expected variety.