Rangers select Adrian Sampson, option Kyle Bird

Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson from Triple-A Nashville. To make room for Sampson on the active roster, the team has optioned left-handed pitcher Kyle Bird to Nashville. To accommodate Sampson on the 40-man roster, the Rangers have transferred left-handed pitcher Yohander Méndez from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Sampson, 27, spent all of spring training with the Rangers before he was assigned to Nashville when the club set its Opening Day roster on March 28. He went 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) and 1.085 WHIP figure over 6 games/2 starts for Texas in the Cactus League this spring, holding opponents to a .224 batting average and .596 OPS with 4 walks against 13 strikeouts. Sampson finished last season with the Rangers, going 0-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 5 games/4 starts. He also made one start for Seattle in 2016. After spending the 2017-18 seasons in the Texas organization, Sampson re-signed with Texas on a minor league contract on January 4.

Bird made 2 relief appearances for Texas in the season-opening 3-game series against the Cubs, his first major league action, posting 1.0 scoreless inning over those outings. He was acquired by the Rangers from Tampa Bay in a three-team trade which sent Jurickson Profar to Oakland on December 21.

Méndez was diagnosed with a Grade 1 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow after leaving a start on March 17 versus Arizona, and he was not scheduled to throw for six weeks following the injury. He was placed on the 10-day injured list when the Rangers set the club’s season-opening roster.

Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the major league roster, along with three players on the 60-day injured list: RHP Luke Farrell, OF Scott Heineman, and Méndez.