The Texas Rangers finally ran out of patience with left-hander Joe Saunders, who was designated for assignment Tuesday after go

BALTIMORE -- The Texas Rangers finally ran out of patience with left-hander Joe Saunders, who was designated for assignment Tuesday after going winless in eight starts. Ben Woodburn Liverpool Jersey . Saunders gave up four homers and seven runs in five innings on Monday night in a 7-1 loss to the Orioles. That left him 0-5 with a 6.13 ERA. "I just dont think its worked out to his liking and we just wanted to try something new and different at this point," assistant general manager Thad Levine said. The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release, or outright Saunders to the minor leagues. But it appears likely his time with Texas is over. "It was something we discussed, and we felt like it was best we go in another direction," manager Ron Washington said. "We appreciate everything Joe done. He was a pro. Sometimes, things just doesnt work out." The Rangers (37-5) had lost 10 of 12 through Monday and were mired in fourth place in the AL West, 14 games behind division-leading Oakland. So instead of waiting to see if the 33-year-old Saunders could break his extended slump, Texas recalled 25-year-old Miles Mikolas from Triple-A Round Rock. Although Levine labeled Mikolas "a work in progress," he said and the right-hander will start Wednesday at Baltimore and become part of the starting rotation. Mikolas was 5-1 with a 3.22 ERA in 16 games, including six starts, for Round Rock. He entered the year with just 11 career starts at the minor league level, all in 2009, his first professional season. But Mikolas was 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA after joining the Express rotation on May 30. So the Rangers bid farewell to Saunders and welcomed Mikolas to the big leagues. "It just so happens we have a starting pitcher at Triple-A who our manager and Triple-A pitching coach are highly recommending we give a chance at the big league level," Levine said. "So I think those two paths cross and we decided to make this move at this point." Saunders signed with Texas on March 5 and was given a job in the starting rotation on March 25, but he went on the 15-day disabled list after one start and did not return until May 28. He never got in a groove after that. Including Mondays outing in Baltimore, Saunders yielded 20 runs in 15 2-3 innings over his last three starts. "They have been miserable," he acknowledged. "Its tough man." Saunders owns an 89-86 lifetime record and made the AL All-Star team in 2008. He broke into the majors with the Los Angeles Angels in 2005 and also pitched for Arizona, Baltimore and Seattle before latching on with the Rangers. "He tried out with us in spring training this year, and he had strong beliefs that he could help us win major league games," Levine said. "I think what he ended up doing is he came in and gave us some very valuable innings. He also has been a consummate professional since hes been here." Custom Liverpool Jerseys . Lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Blake Comeau – The Penguins winger had a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win against Toronto. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Liverpool Jersey . -- Those impatient for the Stanley Cup to return to Canada will have just one team to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Montreal Canadiens. http://www.soccerliverpoolproshop.com/c-49-dominic-solanke-liverpool-fc-jersey.aspx . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell.The Detroit Tigers made a huge splash on deadline day, making a deal to acquire David Price from Tampa Bay. Numbers Game looks at the Tigers getting Price, the Mariners getting Austin Jackson and the Rays hoping for the future. The Tigers Get: LHP David Price. Price, 28, is one of the premier pitchers in baseball, ranked fifth in Fan Graphs WAR (21.1 WAR) over the past five seasons. The 2012 Cy Young winner, and 2010 Cy Young runner-up, Price has been good this season, going 11-8 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with an MLB-leading 189 strikeouts in 170 2/3 IP. While thats a strong season overall, and hes ranked ninth among starting pitchers in the TSN.ca Player Rankings, Price has been sensational over the past couple months, coinciding with the Rays turnaround as a team. Since the beginning of June, a period covering 11 starts, Price has a 1.98 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP, striking out 99 in 86 1/3 IP. Over the past couple seasons, Price has taken complete command of his pitches, cutting his walks per nine dramatically, to the point that hes allowed the fewest walks per nine innings among qualified starters; not bad for the league leader in strikeouts. He is generating more swinging strikes than ever before, with more swinging strikes on pitches outside the zone. Credit his cutter for that. In addition to that, hes been a little unlucky, allowing a career-high .301 batting average on balls in play, with a career-high 11.2% of his flyballs allowed going for home runs. Those rates are not wildly out of line but, as the worst marks of his career, its not unreasonable to expect Price to get some better luck. The short version of all these numbers is that Price is great, a staff ace, and hell lead the Tigers rotation down the stretch and in the postseason. While Price is making $14-million this season, hes arbitration-eligible next year and a free agent the year after. That means the Tigers have stabilized their starting rotation beyond this season. With Max Scherzer set to become a free agent at seasons end and Justin Verlander going through a terrible season, the addition of Price not only thrusts the Tigers into the World Series picture this season, but gives them an ace around which to build next season if Scherzer walks. The Mariners Get: CF Austin Jackson. Jackson is a 27-year-old centre fielder who is an adequate offensive player, a career .277 hitter with a .755 OPS, who is a little below those marks this season, hitting .270 with a .727 OPS. Jackson runs a bit (78 SB on 106 attempts in his career; nine for 13 this year) and was a strong defensive player in his first three seasons, but his numbers are sliding in that respect, posting a career-low Ultimate Zone Rating this season, with no Defensive Runs Saved. In 2011, he had 29 Defensive Runs Saved. Even if the overall production is decent -- and Jackson is ranked 12th among centre fielders in the TSN.ca Player Rankings -- thats more than enough to be an upgrade for the Mariners, who have been playing rookie James Jones, and his .600 OPS, in centre field. For a team harbouring playoff aspirations, and three games out of a playoff spoot currently, Jackson offers a legitimate major league option in centre field. Trent Alexander-Arnold Jersey. Individually, Jackson is looking at losing some numbers, most likely, because Safeco Field is often the place where offensive stats go to die, but he can still produce more than Jones. Making $6-million this season, Jackson is arbitration-eligible in the offseason, but isnt producing so much that he should price himself out of range for the Mariners. Jackson is not a thrilling addition for the Mariners, but a solid pro and that gives Seattle a better chance at the playoffs, which they havent reached since 2001. The Rays Get: LHP Drew Smyly, 2B Nick Franklin and SS Willy Adames. Smyly, 25, is a lefty who returned to the Tigers rotation this season after spending 2013 in the bullpen. In 20 games (17 starts), hes 6-9 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, recording 87 strikeouts in 100 1/3 IP. Those are respectable numbers, certainly worthy of a regular turn in a major league rotation, but its also less than encouraging that Smylys average fastball velocity is already down to 89.8 MPH this season, after he was at 91.6 MPH two seasons ago. Fortunately, Smyly has been having success with his curve ball and is throwing it much more frequently as a result. Smyly isnt going to make anyone forget David Price, but hes inexpensive ($520,000 this season) and under team control, so he can fill a spot in the rotation cheaply, allowing the Rays to spend a little more elsewhere. Coming from the Mariners, 23-year-old Nick Franklin has a chance to be a pretty good player for the Rays. A first-round pick in 2009, Franklin has struggled in the majors, hitting .214 with a .649 OPS in 114 career games (hitting .128 with a .363 OPS in 17 games this year), but hes shown, in the minors, that he can hit, putting up a .281 average and .815 OPS, hitting 20 homers and stealing 19 bases, in 178 games at Triple-A. That doesnt guarantee that Franklin will be an everyday player in the bigs -- and theres reason to doubt his future with 21 strikeouts in 47 at-bats with the Mariners this year -- but hes worthwhile prospect to have going forward, potentially as a replacement for Ben Zobrist at second base. Adames is supposed to the prize of this deal for the Rays, as an 18-year-old playing A ball, the youngest player in the Midwest League. Hes hitting .269 with a .774 OPS, posting a dozen triples, in 98 games. Even if he turns out to be a tremendous long-range prospect, its going to be a few years, at least, before Adames is going to be major-league ready, so its going to be a long time before the real payoff for this deal can be judged for Tampa Bay. As it is right now, it doesnt look good, because the Rays gave up an elite starting pitcher and may not have a lot to show for it. For a team that has been playing as well as any over the past six weeks and now sits five out of a playoff spot, it feels like the Rays may have outsmarted themselves this time. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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