Rangers cut ties with Feldman, Tateyama
The Texas Rangers declined contract options Tuesday on two right-handers who fell out of favor this year.
Scott Feldman and Yoshinori Tateyama both become free agents. Feldman received a $600,000 buyout rather than a $9.25 million deal for next year. The team turned down a $1 million salary for Tateyama, according to ESPNDallas.com.
Feldman, 29, shuttled back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen this year. He wound up 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA in 29 games (21 starts). Over his final seven starts, from Aug. 10 to Sept. 15, he went 0-5 with a 6.99 ERA.
Tateyama, 36, went 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA in 14 relief appearances in 2011. He spent much of the year with Triple-A Round Rock, where he went 4-0 with six saves and a 1.13 ERA in 32 games.
The Rangers filled the vacant spots on their 40-man roster by purchasing the contract of right-hander Justin Miller from Round Rock and reinstating right-hander Neftali Feliz from the 60-day disabled list.
Feliz was out since mid-May with an elbow injury, and he wound up having season-ending Tommy John ligament transplant surgery Aug. 1. He finished the year 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA in eight games (seven starts).
Miller, 25, missed the entire season after undergoing right elbow surgery. He has no major league experience.
