ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers placed All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring prior to Saturday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Beltre will be out an estimated two to three weeks.
The Rangers recalled infielder Chris Davis from Triple-A Round Rock. Davis and Michael Young will split time at third base, with Davis getting the start there on Saturday.
Young was the club's regular third baseman last season and has four starts at the position this season. In addition, he has 58 starts at DH, 25 at first base and 12 at second.
Beltre left Friday night's game against Toronto after injuring his hamstring while running the bases. Beltre, who leads the Rangers with 76 RBIs, had an MRI on Saturday which revealed a Grade 1 strain.
Beltre is hitting .276 with 20 homers and 29 doubles while playing in each of the Rangers' first 100 games. In addition, he's given the Rangers Gold Glove-caliber defense.
Rangers manager Ron Washington said, "You don't replace your RBI leader and this guy has got tons of big hits for us."
Davis is in his third stint with the Rangers this season, batting .269 with three homers and four RBIs in 21 games. In 48 games with Round Rock, Davis hit .368 with 24 homers and 66 RBIs.
Washington said Davis could also be used at first base and left field.
Davis has been the subject of trade rumors, with the Rangers looking for pitching help, but he said that won't detract from his concentration.
"That's on the back burner right now," he said. "Right now I'm a Texas Ranger and we're trying to win the AL West. That's where my head's gonna stay. ... This is a chance to make my mark in this league and I'm gonna try to take every opportunity to do that."
REDS' ROLEN ON DISABLED LIST AGAIN: Scott Rolen raised his left arm to shoulder level, then stopped. That's as far as it would go on Saturday, a day after the Cincinnati Reds put him on the disabled list again with an inflamed shoulder and neck.
It's an ominous sign for the struggling NL Central defending champions, who are much better with their third baseman healthy and in the lineup.
"I'm not overly mobile right now, so something's got to give," the 37-year-old infielder said. "I'm not ready to pick up a bat yet. There won't be any swings for a while."
Rolen went on the 15-day DL for the second time on Friday. He's had problems with the left shoulder since 2005, when he injured it in a collision with the Dodgers' Hee Seop Choi and had two operations.
He missed the last month of the 2007 season because of the shoulder, and had it cleaned out. He went on the DL again in 2008 with a shoulder sprain.
Rolen had one of his best first halves last season, batting .290 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs. The shoulder and neck began bothering him in the second half, and he managed only three homers and 26 RBIs the rest of the way.
He was batting .242 with only five homers and 36 RBIs when the shoulder and neck began bothering him following a game Wednesday in Pittsburgh. It didn't get any better during the Reds' day off, prompting the Reds to put him on the disabled list for the second time this season.
ORIOLES' SCOTT LOST FOR SEASON: It wasn't the pain in his right shoulder that forced Luke Scott to bring an end to his 2011 season. The Baltimore Orioles' left fielder reluctantly abandoned his effort to play through a torn labrum because he was no longer able to swing the bat effectively.
Scott put an end to his troubled season Saturday. In the days ahead, he will decide whether to correct his shoulder through rehabilitation or surgery.
The 33-year-old hoped a stay on the 15-day disabled list would help, but after being activated Friday he didn't get through an entire game against the Los Angeles Angels before realizing his bat speed just wasn't there.
"I battled through it the best I could, but I'm not helping the team by going out there and swinging with my bat underwater," Scott said. "I'm not helping myself either, so I thought I should do what's best now and try to get ready for the next year."
After batting .284 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs last year, Scott is hitting .220 with nine homers and 22 RBIs in 64 games.
Swinging the bat became a chore, not because it hurt so much — he received two cortisone shots along the way — but because he couldn't take the kind of cut he was accustomed to taking.
"Pain's not really the issue. I can play with the pain as long as I have the snap in my bat and I can do a good job out there," Scott said. "I'm just not capable of doing a good job and functionality comes into question."
BLUE JAYS GIVE UP ON REYES: The Toronto Blue Jays designated left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes for assignment and called up Wilfredo Ledezma from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to Saturday night's game against the Texas Rangers. The moves Saturday come a day after Reyes was lit up for eight runs in four innings by the Rangers in Toronto's 12-2 loss at Texas.
Reyes has given up 15 runs and 18 hits in his last two starts. The 26-year-old made 20 starts for the Jays this season, going 5-8 record with 5.40 ERA. He joined Toronto last season in a trade with Atlanta.
Ledezma has made 34 relief appearances this season with Las Vegas with a 1-1 record and 4.63 ERA. The 30-year-old left-hander has appeared in 187 games in the majors, including 40 starts, over eight seasons with Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Arizona, Washington and Pittsburgh.