Joe Saunders DFA'd

Apparently, last night's outing from Joe Saunders was enough for the organization, as he has been designated for assignment today, making room for the Rangers to recall Miles Mikolas and place him into the rotation for the time being.

Saunders, of course, struggled mightily in recent weeks after his luck finally ran out, putting up an ERA of 6.13 in 39.2 innings pitched. Furthermore, his xFIP ended up at 5.16, so he didn't exactly leave much hope of any improvement coming in the future.

With the Rangers hovering around the bottom of the AL West, now seems as good a time as any to get a younger player some time at the Major League level. Mikolas, 25, has put up an ERA of 3.22 at AAA Round Rock in 44.2 innings pitched this year, and his strikeout, home run, and walk rates are good enough that they could play out well enough at the Major League level for him to eat some innings for the time being.

Given that the Rangers had some time to make this decision, it's a bit surprising how swiftly they acted, but it's not surprising overall that the move did indeed happen. Now, we'll get to see what Miles Mikolas can show us.