Scott Feldman rejected an assignment to the minor leagues after clearing outright waivers and the Rangers will activate him tonight, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers, who placed Feldman on outright waivers earlier in the week, can option Yoshinori Tateyama to the minors to create active roster space for Feldman, but they'll have to make another move to create room on the 40-man roster.
Once Feldman rejected the minor league assignment, the Rangers had the choice of activating him or releasing him. If they had released Feldman, who has spent the entire season recovering from a winter knee operation, they would still have been responsible for the $9MM or so remaining on his contract.
Feldman was a starter for Texas from 2008-10, but the Rangers will likely put him in the bullpen now. The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in six seasons. He signed an $11.5MM extension with the Rangers after posting a 4.08 ERA in 189 2/3 innings in 2009.