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SURPRISE, Ariz. – Rangers pitcher Omar Beltre will undergo spinal surgery next week and be out at least three months, if not longer.

Beltre, who arrived in the United States last spring after visa issues, was considered a candidate for the bullpen. The 29-year-old has spinal stenosis, a genetic disorder that involves a narrowing of the spine. The club said it’s something that usually occurs in older people. Beltre will have the surgery Feb. 22 and it will be six to eight weeks before he can throw at all.

The team isn’t sure of Beltre’s timetable or whether he can return to full health because they haven’t found baseball player that’s had this condition.

Beltre and teammate Alexi Ogando were not able to get visas for five years because of their involvement in a visa fraud scandal in the Dominican Republic. But the did obtain the necessary paperwork last year and were allowed to go to the United States in time for spring training in 2010.

FRISCO, Texas -- Rangers manager Ron Washington shared some of his thoughts on the upcoming season with ESPN Dallas on Saturday. Here's some of that conversation:

Q: Do the feelings on Opening Day change for you now that you've gone through it as a manager three times?

A: You feel the same nerves. But it's not nerves because you are concerned about your ability. It's just being anxious to get going. Other than that, I'm as ready to do this as my players are.

Q: Do you put any more pressure on yourself this year based on expectations?

A: I've always held myself to high expectations. No, I don't. If we go out there and play the way we're capable of, everything will take care of itself in terms of 'Ws' and 'Ls'. My job is to get them prepared, my coaches job is to get them prepared. They know what they have to do and as a manager, you're always tied to your players. If they get it done, I'm good. If they don't get it done, then we'll see.

Q: How important is a good start?

A: It's important. It's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen, but it's nice to get off to a good start because when you do, things at some point are going to go bad and when they do, you have something to fall back on. If you don't get off to a good start, then your work is cut out for you. We've never been afraid of work and I know I've never been afraid of work. I'm very confident in my guys and them being ready to go out there and perform and I'm not thinking about this negative stuff. I'm only thinking about good stuff.

Q: What are you most looking foward to about this season?

A: To go out there and watch these guys perform the way they expect themselves to perform. I just want to watch these guys play. They know they can play, they want to go play and I can't wait to watch them play.

Q: What worries you the most about this season?

A: Injuries. I want to make sure [Josh] Hamilton stays healthy and getting [Ian] Kinsler back, making sure Chris Davis has learned from the year before. I think he has. I'm hoping that [Nelson] Cruz has found himself. Julio Borbon has already shown improvement beyond our expectations this quick. We knew he'd get there, but he's done it so fast. I want to make sure Vlad [Guerrero] stays healthy. That's a big key for us. Those are the things that worries me and I think health worries all managers. If we stay healthy, we've got a chance.

Q: Where do you expect this club to be come September?

A: I expect us to be right there in the hunt. I expect us to have an opportunity to trail blaze our own destiny. I expect that. They expect that. As a manager, you try to look at what your players expect and these guys expect to win. That's what I expect, so we're all in the same page. We want to be right there fighting to win the division and fighting for our playoff life.

FRISCO, Texas -- Lefty Matt Harrison was hoping to work on his backdoor pitches in Saturday's 10-7 loss to Kansas City

"But I fell behind 2-0 and 3-0 on too many batters and didn't get a chance to work on it," Harrison said. "I couldn't get in a groove there early, but the third and fourth innings I felt better and made some pitches."

Harrison ended up allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. He had a walk and three strikeouts. But overall, Harrison said he's ready for the season and his first start, which is against the Mariners on Saturday.

""After coming off the surgery, I thought I came in as strong as I could be," Harrison said. "I was ready to work on every aspect of my game and get ready for the season and I think I did that this spring. I got back to what I was doing last year."

Manager Ron Washington felt that Harrison didn't have his rhythm, as evidenced by hitting Kendall with two strikeous on him and later hitting Thorman as well.

The Ragners finish spring training 10-19-1, but Washington isn't worried about the overall record.

"They are ready to go," Washington said. "I feel good about it, I really do. I think my regular guys have been out there doing a pretty good job."

Other game thoughts:

* OF Nelson Cruz (jammed thumb) returned to the lineup and concluded a sensational spring in style. He was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI and hit .364 this spring.

* Vladimir Guerrero a double and scored a run in leading off the fourth inning. Guerrero ran the bases hard, getting to second on his double down the line and scoring on Nelson Cruz's double. Guerrero didn't homer in the spring, but he had seven doubles and 10 RBIs and hit .333, which is solid production.

* It was an up and down game for Julio Borbon. He bobbled a ball in right-center as he tried to back hand it and then made a poor throw to the cutoff man (he was charged with an error). He was also caught stealing with two outs in the first. But Borbon also had two singles and an RBI and hit .326 this spring.

* RHP Chris Ray had a tough inning (though a rough defensive play in right field didn't help him). He ended up allowing five runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning. That bumped his spring ERA to 9.00.

"Whatever he had in his system, I hope that was it and he got it out," Washington said. "We still believe in Chris and we still think he can get some outs. We'll go through the year and see how it goes. We're confident he can help us."

* RHP Doug Mathis got through his inning without allowing a run (one hit, one walk, one strikeout).

* 1B Ryan Garko had two hits on Saturday, including a double. He also bobbled a ground ball hit at him. It was scored a hit, but he was frustrated he didn't make the play. The plan is for Garko to spell Chris Davis against tough lefties this season.

* A few stories from earlier today for you to look at. The Rangers are likely to split the catching duties (at least that's the plan) and Chuck Greenberg said the transfer of ownership is on track to happen the week of April 19th.

FRISCO, Texas -- Chuck Greenberg will attend Opening Day on Monday, though not as the Rangers' owner yet. He sees that changing in a matter of weeks.

"We're on the verge," said Greenberg, as he sat near the Rangers dugout with some members of his family and watched the Rangers playKansas City. "It's not an exact science to predict closing dates, but things are on track to get done the week of April 19th."

Greenberg said that includes the approval of 75 percent of Major League Baseball owners, something necessary to complete the deal.

Tom Hicks, the Rangers' current owner, said he's invited Greenberg and Nolan Ryan's family to sit with him for Opening Day.

Greenberg is busy preparing for the transition of ownership. He said he plans on bringing in seven new hires to help with the marketing and other non-baseball related parts of the team.

"I'm pleased with the front office, this is just bringing in some reinforcements to enhance what's already there," Greenberg said.

He visited Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Friday and said he talked to as many people as he could, including fans, ushers, EMTs and concession workers.

"They are all excited," Greenberg said. "It's a group that cares about their jobs and the fans. I wanted to get an idea of what more we could be doing."

Greenberg said he plans on attending as many road games as he can once he's the owner to get ideas from other parks and put together a plan to improve the ballpark and the overall fan experience. He's talked about a large video board, but has some other ideas he wants to mull over during the course of the season. He's stressed that park alterations aren't likely to occur until after this season.

"I can't wait for Opening Day and to get the season going," Greenberg said. "I think this team is better coming out of spring than we were going in. It should be a fun season."

Greenberg has a contract on a home in Westlake and is looking forward to living in the area.

FRISCO, Texas -- It's a sellout crowd here at Dr Pepper Ballpark and they are seeing the Rangers take a 6-2 lead thanks to five runs in the fourth inning.

Four doubles and a single for the Rangers -- Vladimir Guerrero, Nelson Cruz, Andres Blanco and Joaquin Arias had the doubles -- helped Texas come back to take a four-run lead.

LHP Matt Harrison has allowed four hits and two runs in four innings of work. He has one walk and three strikeouts.

FRISCO, Texas -- For those of you wondering why Roger Staubach is focused on not throwing the ball into the ground for his ceremonial first pitch on Monday, Marc Colombo provided the reason.

Colombo, wearing a Frisco RoughRiders jersey, threw the ball hard and got it maybe halfway to the plate. It did get there, just not in the air. Colombo was a good sport and laughed it off.

I expect better from Staubach on Monday.

We're just about ready to start out here. It's a nice day for baseball and looks like a big crowd filing in.

FRISCO, Texas -- Today's game against the Royals starts at 1:05 p.m. as Matt Harrison pitches against Brian Bannister. Here are some notes:

* OF Nelson Cruz is in the lineup (finger) and should be fine for Opening Day.

* SS Elvis Andrus (left wrist inflammation) got a cortisone shot and is expected to work out on Sunday and play on Monday.

* The Rangers lineup today:

CF Julio Borbon

3B Michael Young

LF Josh Hamilton

DH Vladimir Guerrero

RF Nelson Cruz

1B Ryan Garko

C Taylor Teagarden

SS Andres Blanco

2B Joaquin Arias

FRISCO, Texas -- Rangers manager Ron Washington said Saturday that he plans on splitting the catching duties as the season begins. He said he's happy with both catchers, but that he doesn't have a true starter at this point.

He hasn't decided which catcher -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden -- will start on Opening Day. He'll make that call on Sunday.

"We'll go in with the plan of splitting it, but we'll see if someone gets hot and seizes the position," Washington said.

Both catchers said Saturday that they want to start, but they also want what's best for the team.

"Splitting time keeps up both healthy and a fresh catcher back there," Saltalamacchia said. "When I'm in the game, I'm going to play the best I can and help the team as much as I can and when I'm on the bench, I'm going to root our guys on and help Teagarden as much as I can too. Ultimately, we want to win. It doesn't matter who's back there."

Saltalamacchia acknowleged that shoulder surgery and some setbacks in the offseason and at spring training hurt his chances of claiming the starting job outright.

Teagarden has showed progress with his defense this spring, but he hit .237 no homers and six RBIs and 20 strikeouts. Saltalamacchia batted .280 with a homer and five RBIs.

The Rangers will head to Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas, today to face the Royals in the final exhibition game of the spring.

Left-handed pitcher Matt Harrison (2-0, 3.94 ERA) gets the start for Texas against Royals right-hander Brian Bannister (1-1, 5.54 ERA) at 1:05 p.m.

Good win for the Rangers last night, even if it didn't count. Tim MacMahon shared some of his thoughts here. I was glad to see the solid innings from Willie Eyre and Dustin Nippert last night as well. Nippert may be one of the more underrated players on this team, but that long relief/spot starter role is a critical one and it does seem to suit him. Also, Darren Oliver has been as close to automatic this spring as you can get.

We'll be providing some updates from today's game in Frisco, which is sold out. As of Thursday, they only had a few seats left on the outfield grass, so it should be a fun one.

The Rangers take on the Kansas City Royals tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

This is left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson's final tuneup before the season begins. Wilson is slated to pitch the third and final game of the Toronto series next Thursday.

RHP Luke Hochevar, who played for the Fort Worth Cats before he was drafted by the Royals, will be on the mound opposing Wilson.

* And another reminder that we will be live chatting from Monday's Opening Day contest at 1:05 p.m. Dallas time. So join us!

It's been a little quiet on the blog today, but we do have plenty of Rangers coverage on ESPNDallas.com as Opening Day approaches.

The plan is for Ian Kinsler to start the season on the disabled list. Jon Daniels said this morning: "We want him back as soon as he's ready, but we're going to be smart about it. We don't want this to be an issue later in the year."

ESPNDallas.com columnist Jim Reeves talks about why club president Nolan Ryan is so optimistic about his club's chances this season.

And Matt Mosley has his predictions for the Rangers this season.

We'll have coverage from tonight's exhibition game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Texas Rangers completed a trade with the San Francisco Giants, retaining left-hander Ben Snyder in exchange for LHP Edwin Escobar.

Snyder had been selected from the Giants by the Baltimore Orioles in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 10. The Orioles in turn trade Snyder to the Rangers as the player to be named in the Kevin Millwood-Chris Ray trade the day before.

Snyder, who had a 9.00 ERA in six appearances this spring, did not make the Rangers' Opening Day roster. He therefore had to be offered back to the Giants for $25,000, half of the original draft price. Thursday's deal allows Texas to keep Snyder, who was assigned to Double-A Frisco.

Escobar is in his second professional season. He went 2-5 with a 5.00 ERA in 13 apperances with the Arizona League Rangers in 2009.

We had lots of good questions on the Rangers chat today. If you missed it, be sure and check it out here.

Speaking of chats, we will have a live in-game chat on Opening Day and for most of the Rangers weekday games this season. It's a fun way to talk Rangers baseball (and other topics) as you watch the game. So join us!

The Rangers needed some corner infield help and Ryan Garko was the best player available on the market.

Matt Brown and Max Ramirez may yet grow into one of those jobs, but Garko has more experience and gives the club a right-handed hitting first baseman who has played the position for a few years. Garko his a .279 career hitter and has some postseason experience, playing in the AL Division and Championship Series in 2007 and hit .314 (11-for-35) that year.

Maybe the most important stat: He can hit left-handed pitchers. Garko has a .311 batting average (119-for-383) against lefties the last three seasons and an .882 OPS. That gives the Rangers a viable option at first base if they want to sit Chris Davis against certain lefties.

Garko also doesn't cost much -- $550,000. Brown was a non-roster invitee and Ramirez was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

I think this was the best move the Rangers could have made in terms of that roster spot. What do you think?

Join me for a web chat at 2 p.m. about the Rangers as they complete spring training and get ready for Opening Day.

You can go ahead and ask questions now by clicking here.