ARLINGTON - Rangers manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged the obvious on Monday, noting that he’d “backed off” struggling Luke Jackson as the primary closer for now.
Jackson, who had entered in either the eighth or ninth in each of his first 19 outings this season, entered in the sixth inning twice during the Rangers series at Chicago.
“It doesn’t mean he’s not going to close some games, but I told him, ‘I’m going to use you in different parts of the game where we feel like we may need you.’ With [Chris] Martin down, I just want some flexibility with the match ups that maybe we can have.”
Robert Garcia pitched the ninth in the win at Chicago. Bochy didn’t indicate if he’d use García primarily as the closer. The Rangers are more likely to look at individual matchups.
Some other odds and ends from Monday:
— RHP Marc Church has been sent on a rehab assignment to the Arizona Complex League. Church, dealing with an oblique injury, has not pitched in a game since he was sent back to the minor leagues in mid-April.
— The Rangers have signed Dallas-raised OF Billy McKinney to a minor league contract. McKinney, 30, who attended Plano West and was the 24th overall pick in the 2013 draft had been at Triple-A Syracuse in the New York Mets organization. He’s appeared in seven major league seasons with seven different teams.
— Also, the Rangers have re-signed INF Alan Trejo to a minor league contract. Trejo, who turns 29 on May 30, has split the 2025 season with the Texas and Colorado organizations. The infielder was a member of the Rangers’ Major League Spring Training camp before starting the season with Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .211 (15-for-71) with 13 RBI for the Express from March 29-April 25. He was traded to Colorado in exchange for cash on April 26 and had his contract selected by the Rockies the next day, batting .175 (7-for-40) in 14 games with Colorado before being designated for assignment on May 16.
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