The Texas Rangers haven't scored more than five runs in any of their last ten games, averaging 2.8 runs during that stretch. So if there's anything more welcome than one of their sluggers returning from the disabled list, it's two of them coming back from the disabled list on the same day. The Rangers activated Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz on Monday, significantly upgrading 22 percent of their lineup.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com notes that the Rangers optioned Taylor Teagarden to make room for one of the sluggers, while Lone Star Ball attempts to figure out who else is going down:
It may be that the Rangers are evaluating whether Endy Chavez's hamstring issue is such that he will need to be placed on the 15 day disabled list. Mitch Moreland, as well, has been having hamstring issues, and it could be that the Rangers may need to make a move with him. Chris Davis and Craig Gentry are the other two likely candidates to be optioned to make room for Hamilton and Cruz.
After losing Hamilton, the Rangers went 15-21. While that can't be completely attributed to losing last year's MVP, his return along with Cruz's gives the Rangers the lineup with which they started the season, and that team was almost unbeatable. Cruz was off to a bit of a slow start before his injury, hitting .219/.303/.438 over 105 at-bats, while Hamilton hit .333/.409/.462 in 38 at-bats before his fateful scramble towards home.