Dillon Gee will do what he's told

With ace Yu Darvish reportedly facing the prospect of Tommy John surgery, the Rangers might be in need of pitching help.

But that doesn't mean the Rangers are focused on acquiring Mets righthander Dillon Gee despite showing interest in him at the winter meetings.

"Not at this time," said an industry source when asked if the Rangers are mulling a run at Gee, whose future has been at the center of constant speculation.

The Phillies' Cole Hamels leads a contingent of arms that could be available via a trade. It's a group that includes Gee, whom the Mets remain open to dealing. But according to a CBSSports.com report, the Rangers likely will focus on in-house options.

That means Gee, 28, likely will continue his forced transition from starter to reliever. As the odd man out of the rotation, he began working out of the bullpen in Saturday's 8-7 split-squad loss to the Marlins.

Gee entered with one out in the fourth and allowed one hit in 22/3 innings.

"I wouldn't say it's hard, it's just different," Gee said of the transition. "Definitely I think your mind-set -- not really your mind-set, but preparation- wise -- starter to the bullpen is night and day. And that's going to take some getting used to."

Gee said he didn't pay much attention to the trade ramifications of Darvish's injury. "What it boils down to is I don't make those decisions,'' he said, "so I can't strike a trade with myself."

As he's done throughout spring training, Gee made his preference clear.

"I see myself as a starter, so I think I can contribute to a team in a starting role," he said. "But if I'm put in the bullpen here, I'm going to do the best I can to help the team."

Relief for Murphy

X-rays came back negative for Daniel Murphy, who was nursing a sore right hand one day after he was hit by a pitch.

Though Murphy was held out of Saturday's Grapefruit League games, he doesn't expect to be sidelined going forward. Said Murphy: "It's not broken so it should be OK, eventually."