Texas Rangers Catcher Mike Napoli Lands On 15-Day D-L

Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images(ARLINGTON, Texas) -- The Texas Rangers placed catcher Mike Napoli on the 15-day disabled list Saturday due to a strained left quadriceps. The club called up catcher Luis Martinez from Triple-A Round Rock to take his roster spot.

The 30-year-old Napoli is batting .223 on the season with 17 home runs and 40 RBIs in 92 games. Since July 1st, he is hitting just .180 with five homers and 10 RBIs.

The Rangers are expected to give backup catcher Geovany Soto the majority of playing time while Napoli is out.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Darvish' First Day of Spring Training

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images(SURPRISE, Ariz.) -- Let the Darvish mania begin.  The Texas Rangers arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday along with their Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish in Arizona.

As Darvish approached the mound for his first session, the Japanese media flashed their cameras but were not able to get a word with him.

Catcher Luis Martinez was the first to get a look at the Rangers' new star on the mound who threw 30 pitches.

"I was excited and happy to catch him," said Martinez, who admitted that it was "a bit overwhelming," too. "He had a bunch of pitches, great stuff and stayed down in the zone. He threw curveballs, sliders, changeup, splits. He did really well."

One person who did get to chat with Darvish was pitcher Derek Holland. 

"He's practicing it," Holland said of Darvish's English vocabulary. "He said, 'Please teach me English.' I told him I'm not the best guy to be teaching English. We were joking. He was getting a feel for it."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio