LOS ANGELES (TICKER) — Mike Morgan has ended his record 17th career stint on the disabled list and will start tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Texas Rangers activated the 39-year-old righthander from the 15-day DL tonight and made room for him on the roster by optioning pitcher Danny Kolb to Oklahoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.
Morgan was disabled Wednesday, retroactive to May 24, with an inflammation of the right shin. He is 6-4 with a 6.26 ERA in 12 games and shares the club lead in wins with Aaron Sele.
Morgan was scratched from his last start May 29 after experiencing swelling and pain in his right shin. A bone scan produced no abnormal results but an MRI showed inflammation and swelling in the soft tissue of his lower right leg.
Playing with his 11th team, Morgan signed a minor league contract with the Rangers in the offseason. Ken Brett, Tommy Davis and Bob L. Miller are the only others to play for as many as 10 different teams.
Morgan is 127-174 with three saves in 455 career games, including 390 starts. He started his career with the Oakland Athletics on June 11, 1978, a week after graduating high school.
He played for Oakland from 1978-79, the New York Yankees in 1982, Toronto in 1983, Seattle from 1985-87, Baltimore in 1988, Los Angeles from 1989-91, the Cubs from 1992-95 and again in 1998, St. Louis in 1995-96, Cincinnati in 1996-97 and Minnesota last season.
Kolb, a righthander, pitched Friday at Arizona, allowing two runs in 2/3 inning.