Texas Rangers reinstate Nelson Cruz from restricted list
Joey Butler designated for assignment to make room on 40-man roster
The Texas Rangers today announced that outfielder Nelson Cruz has been reinstated from the restricted list and will be active for tonight's A.L. Wild Card Tiebreaker versus the Tampa Bay Rays.
To make room for Cruz on the 40-man roster, outfielder Joey Butler has been designated for assignment.
Cruz was placed on the restricted list on August 5 after receiving a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball for violating the terms of MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He has participated in the Rangers Instructional League program in Arizona for the last two weeks and was 9-for-27 (.333) with 5 doubles, a home run, and 9 RBI in 8 Advanced Instructional League games.
Cruz is batting .269 with 27 homers and 76 RBI in 108 games for Texas this season. He last played on August 4 at Oakland.
Butler was 4-for-12 with one RBI in 8 games over 2 stints with Texas this season. He had appeared in 6 games since his recall from Triple-A Round Rock on September 3 (2-8). The Rangers have ten days to trade, release, or outright Butler to the minor leagues.