MLB Roundup: Ryan to retire as Rangers CEO

The Sports Xchange

The Texas Rangers announced Thursday that CEO Nolan Ryan is retiring, effective Oct. 31.

Ryan, a Hall-of-Fame pitcher, joined the Rangers as president in 2008 and became CEO in 2011. During Ryan's six seasons as a Rangers executive, the club went to the World Series twice (2010 and '11) and had the fifth-highest winning percentage (.551) in the major leagues.

"This is the right time for me to step down from my role of overseeing the Rangers organization," Ryan said in a statement. "I am extremely proud of what this organization has accomplished. On the field, we have enjoyed great success at the major league level. The fans have supported us in record numbers the last two years and we have been able to upgrade the ballpark and enhance the in-game experience to reward that loyalty."

---Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Thursday that injured shortstop Hanley Ramirez and center fielder Andre Ethier plan to be in the lineup for Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Ramirez, who has a fractured rib, was removed from the last two games in the seventh inning due to pain. He missed Game 2 of the series after sustaining the injury in the series opener. Ethier, who has a fractured left ankle, also missed Game 2 but played in the last three games.

The Cardinals lead the series 3-2.

---The Cleveland Indians re-signed right-handed reliever Matt Capps to a minor league contract on Thursday with a non-roster invitation to spring training camp.

Capps, 30, pitched in six games this season at triple-A Columbus before undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery on June 5. In eight major-league seasons, Capps is 29-33 with 138 saves and a 3.52 ERA over 444 appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins.

---Xander Bogaerts was penciled into the Boston Red Sox's lineup at third base for Thursday night's Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit.

Bogaerts replaced struggling Will Middlebrooks in the lineup and was batting eighth. The Aruba native was making his first playoff start but had batted four times in the postseason, going 1-for-2 with two walks and four runs. The 21-year-old becomes he youngest Red Sox player to start a postseason game since Babe Ruth in the 1916 World Series.