Jason Grilli and Kevin Richardson Assigned to Oklahoma City

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -Arlington, Texas – The Texas Rangers announced today that the club has outrighted right-handed pitcher Jason Grilli and catcher Kevin Richardson off the 40-man roster and assigned them to Triple-A Oklahoma City.  Both players cleared outright waivers prior to today’s transactions.  Grilli is expected to decline the outright assignment and become a free agent.

Grilli went a combined 2-3 with one save and a 5.32 ERA (27 ER/45.2 IP) in 52 relief appearances for Colorado and Texas this season.  He was acquired by Texas from Colorado in exchange for cash considerations on June 9 and went 2-2 with a 4.78 ERA (14 ER/26.1 IP) in 30 outings with the Rangers.  Over his first 17 games with Texas, Grilli had a 1.53 ERA (3 ER/17.2 IP) and held opponents to a .150 average.  He then endured a stint on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, after which he allowed runs in 6 of his last 13 outings.  Grilli stranded his first 12 inherited runners after joining the Rangers.

Richardson made his major league debut with Texas this season, going 3-for-6 in 4 games with one start.  He spent the bulk of the year with Oklahoma City, batting .216 (55-255) with 13 home runs and 36 RBI in 74 games.  A non-roster invitee to big league spring training this year, Richardson did not appear in any games this spring due to a knee injury.  He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 23, 2002 and has played at every level of the Rangers organization.  He went 2-for-4 in his big league debut on Aug. 17 vs. Minnesota, becoming just the second catcher in club history to have multiple hits in his first big league game.

With these moves, the Rangers now have 38 players on the club’s 40-man roster.

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