Saltalamacchia Sent To Minors; Laird To Start At Catcher Slot For Rangers

Surprise, AZ (AHN) - The Texas Rangers on Wednesday sent young catcher and first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the minors in favor of last year's starter Gerald Laird, who won his spring duel with a better average and plate production.

Saltalamacchia, who batted .250 in 13 games this spring while hitting two homers and eight RBIs, will be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma. The Rangers wanted the 22-year-old Florida native to catch everyday in the minors rather than see less plate appearances in sharing at-bats with Laird.

Laird hit .263 and drove in nine RBIs while lofting four homeruns in 14 spring training games. He had a .224-9-47 batting average-homeruns-RBIs numbers last season.

Saltalamacchia was one of the players involved in last year's trading deadline deal that sent first baseman Mark Texeira to the Atlanta Braves. He batted .266 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs last season.