Rangers excited by Hearn's ability out of 'pen

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers straddled the line between being buyers and sellers at this year’s Trade Deadline, but the one move they made prior to Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT -- dealing right-hander Matt Bush to the Brewers -- has already had a domino effect through their bullpen.

When Taylor Hearn was recalled Tuesday as Jon Gray (left oblique strain) went on the injured list, president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward both confirmed the left-hander will work in relief instead of taking Gray’s spot in the rotation.

Hearn immediately joined the action during Tuesday night’s 8-2 loss to the Orioles at Globe Life Field. He tossed two scoreless innings, allowing no hits with one walk and one strikeout as he worked through Baltimore’s lineup for a smooth outing to begin this stint with Texas.

For weeks, the Rangers had been transitioning Hearn to a multi-inning relief role after he spent much of the first half of the season as a starter. In June, he was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock after he had a 6.25 ERA over 13 starts.

Since then, Hearn's worked out of the bullpen, including during a brief stint with Texas in July. He has a 1.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings over his first four big league relief appearances this year.

“I feel like the stuff is kind of sustained when he's in a shorter stint,” Woodward said. “You know, it's 95 [mph], in the upper 90s. When the velo is that high, the slider plays better and the changeup is pretty decent. I think he’s not only more efficient, but he's also got better command, I feel like, in those shorter stints. When you put all that together, he's going to have success. They can’t square him up.”

Woodward has echoed those sentiments multiple times in recent weeks, believing Hearn is more useful in this type of role. He’s proven that to be true in the small sample size since the move.

Woodward’s noted before that it’s about Hearn “emptying the tank” early and not trying to sustain his velocity and stuff over seven or eight innings as a starter.

“It's the fact that he can just give it everything he's got and not have to hold anything back,” Woodward said. “It's just, ‘Hey, let's get six outs, or nine outs, one time through the lineup and just blow their doors off.’ When he has that mentality, he attacks, he's sharper, he pounds the zone and it's really hard to square him up the first time around. They just don't know what to expect.”

Hearn said he’s never felt like “emptying the tank” was something he’s been concerned with while pitching. He just tries to get through each inning for as long as he stays on the mound.

“I've never thought about it when I'm out there pitching,” Hearn said. “I’m always trying to just let it eat. Whatever I’ve got that day, I'll roll with it. Yeah, I've never thought about it. I feel good.”

Regardless, a relief role seems to be what the Rangers are most comfortable with for Hearn moving forward.

“He's got really good stuff," Woodward said. "So two to three innings, whatever we need out of him. That's a big weapon down there. That's a power arm. He’s confident in those shorter stints, and I think that, right now, that’s where Taylor can really help us out immediately, and it suits him best."