Strickland was technically released by the Rangers on Friday evening, but in truth he opted out. He comes back to Texas, and will assuredly have another potential opt-out if the Rangers don’t add him to the active roster.

Strickland had an upcoming out-out clause in his minor league deal that he was likely to use anyways and he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster, so this move makes sense for both parties. He’s now free to explore opportunities elsewhere.

Strickland is a late add to the Rangers’ bullpen, and is unlikely to make the team out of spring training. The 36-year-old still could end up being a helper for the Texas bullpen, likely in a mid-to-late inning role.

This is pretty lame. Strickland has not been a high-leverage guy this year, but the Angels might prefer him closing over Ben Joyce for now in order to save money on Joyce’s future arbitration salaries. To be fair, Strickland has been perfectly solid in posting a 3.06 ERA. Joyce, though, was clearly ahead of him on the Angels’ relief depth chart before the Carlos Estévez and Luis García trades. He pitched a scoreless eighth for a hold in front of Strickland tonight. Strickland came into the game with no saves and six holds on 47 appearances.