Thursday, March 24, 2011

Rangers name Neftali Feliz as its closer for 2011

Although he was scheduled to start against the Padres today, Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz will instead come out of the bullpen.

Despite pitching well enough this spring to earn a spot in the rotation, manager Ron Washington believes Feliz will be of greater value to the team as its closer.

"That's exactly what I told him," Washington said, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. "Right now, for our organization, we're better off with him in the bullpen. We haven't closed the door on him being a starter. We're just not ready yet."

The Rangers starting rotation will be C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland.

Feliz, who was named the A.L. Rookie of the Year, finished with 40 saves last year.

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