Jim Adduci to the DL; Luis Sardinas recalled from Double-A
/Per John Blake, a night after going 3-5 in his lone start of the 2014 season, Jim Adduci is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left pinky. Taking his place on the 25-man roster is shortstop Luis Sardinas, who is being recalled from Double-A Frisco.
Adduci has served a limited role on the Rangers this season, mostly as a late-inning pinch-hitter and defensive replacement. With him on the DL, for the time being Texas will roll with a four-man outfield.
Luis Sardinas, 21, signed to a $1.2 million signing bonus as an amateur in 2009, has been on baseball's prospect radar virtually since arriving to the states. Coming up as a shortstop at the same time as top prospect -- Jurickson Profar -- conventional wisdom suggested Sardinas would either (a) be converted into a second baseman or (b) eventually have to be traded to cure the logjam. With the Elvis Andrus extention last spring, and Profar subsequently becoming the franchise's de facto 2nd baseman of the future, perhaps Jon Daniels's thought process with this callup is to give the rest of the league a good look at Sardinas.
The transaction is interesting, in that respect, because the Rangers are now looking at a starting infield of Kevin Kouzmanoff, Elvis Andrus, Donnie Murphy and Prince Fielder, with Mitch Moreland, Josh Wilson, Luis Sardinas and Michael Choice making up the bench; that's three infielders, and, really, three middle infielders, at that.
Sardinas is known to have a strong arm, a flashy glove and good range in the infield; offensively he isn't expected to produce very much. I'm not entirely sure what to expect out of him early on, but with Donnie Murphy and Josh Wilson as alternatives, I would much rather see what the kid has to offer.