Rangers Notes: Scott Feldman Wants to Order Some Sliders

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Add right-hander Scott Feldman to the list of Rangers’ pitchers toying with adding a slider to the repertoire.

Feldman, who normally throws a curve for his breaking pitch, threw a pair of sliders while pitching three scoreless innings Wednesday in a 6-4 loss to San Francisco. While both sliders were called balls, he was very effective for the second consecutive outing. Feldman has allowed only one hit in five innings since getting pounded for seven runs in his spring debut.

Feldman is one of three starters in camp trying to make the slider a more usable pitch. The other two, Brandon McCarthy and Thomas Diamond, are both coming off arm injuries and the slider is considered a less stressful pitch because it doesn’t place as much torque on the shoulder and elbow.

Feldman, however, is trying to incorporate for another reason. Since moving from a sidearm throwing angle to three quarters before last season, his curve simply hasn’t been very effective. The new arm angle has made his fastball more effective, but finding a breaking pitch when the fastball isn’t sharp has been an issue.

“I was a little bit frustrated with it today during the game,” Feldman said. “I went down to the bullpen and threw a few more after I came out. I want to get a better feel for it as a breaking ball. It would be a nice addition.”

MORE NOTES

• Two of the three Rangers participating in the World Baseball Classic should return to the team in time for Thursday’s exhibition against Seattle. It’s the guy still playing – or, more precisely, rarely playing – the Rangers are concerned about.

General manager Jon Daniels indicated the team was told C Max Ramirez would start each of the first round games for Venezuela, which beat Italy Tuesday 10-1 to advance to the second round. Ramirez has started none. He did get two at-bats Tuesday, but has just three for the tournament. The Venezuelans used C Ramon Hernandez and DH Carlos Guillen for all three first-round games. The Rangers would have had a lot more at-bats to give Ramirez over the last week. He now moves on to second-round games in Miami.

Meanwhile Frank Catalanotto (Italy) and Nelson Cruz (the shamed Dominican Republic) should be in uniform Thursday. Catalanotto has hit a combined .333 (7-for-21) in the two WBCs. Cruz went 3-for-11 (.273) with a pair of walks and a homer as the Dominican was shockingly upset twice by The Netherlands.

• RHP Luis Mendoza left Tuesday’s game after a blister on his right middle finger opened up. It seems to be a regular occurrence for Mendoza. He’s developed blisters on the same finger in each of his three spring trainings with Texas. Mendoza is hopeful he’ll be able to throw by Thursday.

With minor league options remaining on him, any injury, no matter how minor, is likely to factor in during the evaluation process. Mendoza, who struggled with command last year, is one of about eight pitchers vying for four open spots in the bullpen. Mendoza likely opens the season as a member of the Triple-A Oklahoma rotation.

• The Rangers are off Wednesday and it comes at a fine time for manager Ron Washington, who had to undergo an emergency root canal Tuesday morning. He made it back in time for the game, but was still feeling the effects of the procedure after the loss. … The final batch of Rangers minor leaguers reports for spring training Wednesday. The Rangers aren’t expecting any visa holdups on any of their Latin American minor leaguers. All pitchers and catchers have reported.