Rangers' Jeffress reinstated following arrest on DWI charge

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Texas Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress has been reinstated by Major League Baseball and joined the team Friday after being placed on the restricted list following an arrest on a drunken driving charge last month.

Jeffress was arrested Aug. 26., less than a month after being acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers before the Aug. 1 deadline.

The right-handed reliever was at an inpatient rehab clinic for a little more than three weeks, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.

Jeffress was also suspended twice in the minor leagues for violating baseball's drug rules.

''I just want to move forward from this,'' Jeffress said in the visitor's dugout in Oakland. ''I'm still a sick man, I'm still working on my treatment. Coming from the program I was just in made me a better person, a wiser person.''

Daniels said it wasn't clear whether Jeffress would be on the team's postseason roster if they made it there. The team's magic number to clinch the AL West entering Friday night was one.

''Right now we're in a little more of an evaluation phase,'' Daniels said. ''I expect there'll be some combination of bullpen and maybe live (batting practice) before he gets into a game, then we'll see how much time is left before the end of the season.''

Jeffress, who turned 29 on Wednesday, expressed hope that he'll be ready to pitch in the postseason.

''It could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but knowing that I've got myself in a better state of mind, I know I'll be OK with it if I'm not, I know going forward there's a next year, there's years to come,'' Jeffress said.