Royals Sign Luke Jackson, Génesis Cabrera To Minor League Deals
The Royals announced that right-hander Luke Jackson and left-hander Génesis Cabrera have been signed to minor league deals. Jackson opted out of a deal with the Mets last week. Cabrera was with the Phillies on a minor league pact but he was released last week, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Presumably, both pitchers will report to Triple-A Omaha.
Jackson, 34, is really just getting his season going. He missed all of spring training, as he only signed with the Mets in the first week of April. He then made three scoreless Single-A appearances, followed by five Triple-A appearances. At that higher level, he allowed six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings before opting out.
The Royals are presumably banking more on his track record than those recent numbers. Jackson has a 4.22 earned run average in 409 1/3 career innings. Not too long ago, he was an important leverage arm in the big leagues. With Atlanta in 2021, he posted a 1.98 ERA and recorded 31 holds. He then made 11 postseason appearances to help Atlanta win that year’s World Series.
Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2022 season. He was back on the mound in 2023, putting up a 2.97 ERA with the Giants. But then his ERA climbed to 5.09 in 2024. He corrected it somewhat in 2025, getting his ERA down to 4.06, but with less encouraging numbers under the hood. Though he induced grounders on 51.7% of balls in play, his 17.4% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate were both subpar numbers. In 2024, though his ERA was higher, he was able to punch out 25.1% of batters faced.
Cabrera, 29, just allowed 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 Triple-A innings after signing that aforementioned deal with the Phillies. That makes it fairly unsurprising that they let him go. The Royals will be hoping for a bounceback based on some potential he has shown in the past.
With upper-90s velocity from the left side, Cabrera has flashed some occasional swing-and-miss stuff along with command struggles. In 318 1/3 big league innings, he has walked 11.1% of batters faced. His career strikeout rate of 21.9% is close to average but has been erratic. He struck out 27.8% of batters he faced over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That dropped to 16.5% in 2022, bounced back to 24.3% in 2023, but then was below 19% in the following two seasons.
For the Royals, there’s no harm in bringing in some fresh arms on minor league deals, especially guys with some major league experience. The Kansas City bullpen has not been a strength this year. The club’s relievers have a collective 4.51 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of the league in that category. Carlos Estévez, Matt Strahm and James McArthur are all on the injured list at the moment. With starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic also hitting the IL recently, long relievers like Bailey Falter or Luinder Avila might need to move to the rotation or at least bulk roles. If a fresh arm is needed at some point, Jackson and Cabrera could be candidates to get the call.
Photo courtesy of John Froschauer, Imagn Images
Luke Jackson To Opt Out Of Mets Contract
Right-hander Luke Jackson is triggering an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed with the Mets in early April, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports. Depending on the specific terms of the clause, Jackson may be a free agent immediately, or he could become a free agent if the Mets don’t add him to their active roster within the next few days.
Jackson’s time in the farm system has seen the righty post a 0.00 ERA over three innings at high-A St. Lucie, but then an 11.57 ERA over five games and 4 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. Those rough numbers included seven walks against only two strikeouts against Triple-A batters, so it isn’t surprising that New York hasn’t yet felt compelled to call Jackson up to the majors. Even though the Mets are known for churning through relievers, selecting Jackson’s contract would also require a corresponding 40-man roster move.
A veteran of 10 Major League seasons, Jackson spent the majority (272 of his 409 1/3 career innings) with the Braves, posting a 3.97 ERA over his time in Atlanta’s bullpen. His best season was in 2021, when Jackson’s 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 relief innings made him one of many unsung heroes on the Braves’ World Series championship club.
As one might expect for a grounder specialist, Jackson’s performance has tended to wax and wane in relation to his BABIP. Jackson’s control has always been spotty and his strikeout numbers have fluctuated rather sharply, and evened out at a 23.2% career strikeout rate. The 2025 season saw Jackson post a 4.06 ERA, 17.4K%, 12.8% walk rate, and 51.7% grounder rate over 51 innings with the Rangers, Tigers, and Mariners, as a .253 BABIP helped Jackson overcome his shaky secondary metrics.
If Jackson doesn’t end up with the Mets and instead becomes a free agent, his track record means that he’ll probably land another minors contract relatively quickly. The right-hander has played for six different organizations since July 2024, so Jackson is getting quite used to changing teams.
Mets, Luke Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and reliever Luke Jackson are in agreement on a minor league deal, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. The right-hander is a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Jackson debuted with the Rangers in 2015 and has played in parts of 10 big-league seasons through 2025. He spent 2017-21 with the Braves but underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022, causing him to miss that season. He returned with the Giants in 2023 and split the following year between San Francisco and a return trip to Atlanta. He became more of a journeyman in 2025, pitching 51 innings over 52 appearances with the Rangers, Tigers, and Mariners. He had a 4.06 ERA overall but finished strong with a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings for the Mariners. He also appeared three times for Seattle in the postseason, allowing one earned run in three innings.
The 34-year-old peaked with 18 saves and 1.3 fWAR for the Braves in 2019. He has not been especially dominant in the years since, but he has managed to stick around thanks to his talent for inducing groundballs. Since that 2019 season, Jackson has never posted a groundball rate below 50%. His 51.1% mark since the start of 2023 puts him in the top 20% of qualified relievers. That ability has helped him withstand a decline in velocity as well as a below-average walk rate as he pitches into his mid-30s. His strikeout rate also fell to 17.4% in 2025, although he has rebounded in that area before. Indeed, a look at his stats page shows a pattern of below-average strikeout seasons followed by a few above-average years.
Given his experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise for the Mets to select his contract at some point. With Devin Williams and Luke Weaver handling the late innings, the low and medium-leverage bullpen spots are covered by Huascar Brazobán, Tobias Myers, Richard Lovelady, and Sean Manaea. The latter has been a starter throughout his career and could regain that role in mid-April as the Mets shift to a six-man rotation. That would leave them with one less bullpen spot, so Jackson’s likeliest path to the roster is by replacing one of the other three relievers. Lovelady has been designated for assignment three times since September, including twice by the Mets. He could be the odd man out in a Jackson call-up, given his rough start to the year.
Photo courtesy of John Froschauer, Imagn Images
Mariners Promote Harry Ford, Release Donovan Solano
With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today, the Mariners announced that they have selected catcher Harry Ford and right-hander Luke Jackson. They also recalled infielder Leo Rivas. In corresponding moves, they designated right-hander Sauryn Lao for assignment and released infielder Donovan Solano.
Ford, 22, is widely considered one of the top catching prospects — and top 100 overall prospects — in the industry. The former first-rounder has spent the whole season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s done nothing to dissuade that line of thinking. In his first 97 games and 458 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Ford has turned in a terrific .283/.408/.460 batting line (125 wRC+). He’s homered 16 times, swiped seven bags and walked nearly as often (16.2%) as he’s struck out (19.2%).
There are natural questions about Ford’s long-term fit on a roster that also includes 2025 AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh. The Mariners’ franchise catcher signed a six-year extension last offseason and has obviously substantially elevated his profile since putting pen to paper on that contract. The M’s could roster both catchers and rotate them between the catching and designated hitter spot. Having two catchers with that type of offensive potential would be a clear advantage, though there’ll likely be plenty of offseason attempts to pry Ford from the Mariners’ grasp. Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is never one to shy away from bold trades, so he’ll presumably at least consider dealing from strength, if it addresses other areas of need.
For the time being, however, Ford will get his feet wet and bolster the Mariners’ catching depth while they chase down what looks like a very, very likely playoff berth. The Mariners currently trail the Astros by two games in the American League West but have a 2.5-game lead over the Rangers for the final Wild Card spot. Both the Houston and Texas rosters have recently been hit with several key injuries, while Seattle has remained generally healthy and also added some key lineup upgrades at the July trade deadline (Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, most notably).
Jackson, 34, has spent the bulk of the season with the Rangers but also tossed 4 2/3 innings for the Tigers. He’s pitched to a 4.54 ERA in 39 2/3 innings overall. Once a key member of the Atlanta bullpen, Jackson was a rock in manager Brian Snitker’s 2021 bullpen as the Braves won the World Series. He tossed 63 2/3 innings with a 1.98 ERA, 26.8% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 31 holds. His elbow gave way the following spring, however, and Jackson missed all of 2022 following Tommy John surgery.
In three years since returning from surgery, Jackson’s results haven’t matched his pre-injury levels. He’s logged a combined 126 innings of 4.36 ERA ball. His strikeout rate is down to 23.6% in that time (and just 16.1% this year), while his walk rate climbed to nearly 12% (13.8% in 2025). Jackson’s average fastball is also down more than a mile per hour from his pre-surgery form.
Even with those red flags, he’ll get a look in the Seattle bullpen down the stretch. Jackson has plenty of experience in postseason races and high-leverage settings. That experience and his overall track record could prove beneficial for the M’s if he can get his command back on track. Jackson isn’t going to be thrust into ultra high-leverage spots anyhow, so he really only needs to function as a serviceable middle reliever.
Solano signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal over the winter. He had a dreadful start but heated up in the summer. However, Solano was signed due to his typically strong production against lefties — but struggled uncharacteristically versus southpaws (.181/.212/.245). He hit .348/.403/.478 in 77 plate appearances versus righties, but that was buoyed by a .407 BABIP he’s not likely to sustain. And, with the addition of Naylor as an everyday option at first base, the need for a short-side platoon bat at first base (who was unexpectedly struggling versus the lefties he was signed to help with) apparently ran out.
Lao, 26, made his big league debut this season but has only pitched 3 1/3 innings in the majors. He’s been tagged for three runs with a 4-to-1 K/BB ratio in that short sample. The rest of his season has been spent in Tacoma, where he’s pitched to a 3.13 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 69 innings of relief.
Lao, a former Dodger farmhand who signed as a minor league free agent last offseason, has averaged 93.5 mph on his four-seamer and 92.9 mph on his sinker in Triple-A. He’s also mixed in a mid-80s slider and upper-80s changeup. He has multiple minor league option years remaining and will now hit the waiver wire, where he’ll be made available to all 29 other clubs.
Mariners Sign Luke Jackson To Minors Contract
The Mariners signed Luke Jackson to a minor league deal on Thursday, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Jackson (who turns 34 tomorrow) made his debut with Triple-A Tacoma last night, allowing two runs in an inning of relief work.
The Rangers signed Jackson to a one-year, $1.5MM free agent deal back in February, plus he added another $450K to his salary by reaching innings-based incentives thresholds. Jackson was designated for assignment and then released in late July, then quickly joined the Tigers on another guaranteed deal. This tenure in Motown lasted just three appearances and 4 1/3 innings before Jackson was DFA’ed again, and he elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Should the Mariners call Jackson up to the active roster, Seattle will owe him just a prorated minimum salary, which will be subtracted from what remains of his original salary. With Texas still responsible for the bulk of Jackson’s owed money, there’s no risk for the M’s in adding a veteran depth arm to the ranks.
As one might expect from the three-team tour, it hasn’t been a terribly productive year for Jackson on the mound. Jackson has a 4.54 ERA over 39 2/3 combined innings with Texas and Detroit, with almost as many walks (24) as strikeouts (28). The lack of results have come despite Jackson’s usual success at keeping the ball on the ground, as he has a 52.5% grounder rate and a favorable .267 BABIP.
It has now been more two years since Jackson’ last productive MLB season, as he also had a 5.09 ERA across 53 innings with the Giants and Braves in 2024. While walks have always been an issue for Jackson, he posted very strong numbers in both the 2021 and 2023 seasons, with the 2022 campaign a writeoff due to a Tommy John surgery. If he can recapture any of his old form, Jackson could bring some postseason experience to a Mariners team that has hopes of making some noise in October.
Luke Jackson Elects Free Agency
Aug. 10: Jackson cleared waivers and has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo, as per Jackson’s MLB.com profile page. Because Jackson has previously been outrighted in his career, he had the right to opt for free agency.
Aug. 8: The Tigers have recalled right-hander Codi Heuer from Triple-A Toledo, with fellow righty Luke Jackson designated for assignment. The moves haven’t been officially announced but Craig McCosky of Detroit News was among the reporters to relay them.
The Tigers picked up Jackson a couple of weeks ago after he had been released by the Rangers. He had been having a rough season in Texas but has a good track record, so the Tigers scooped him up, hoping for a bounceback.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get it. He tossed 4 2/3 innings for Detroit, allowing four earned runs via three hits and five walks while striking out four. Combined with his results with the Rangers, he has a 4.54 earned run average in 39 2/3 innings this year. His 52.5% ground ball rate is good but his 16.1% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate are both noticeably worse than league average.
Despite the rough numbers, he might get another shot somewhere. The Rangers are still on the hook for the remainder his $1.5MM salary. That means another club could sign Jackson and would only have to pay him the prorated version of the $760K league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Rangers pay.
From 2018 to 2024, Jackson tossed 289 2/3 innings in the majors with a 3.91 ERA. His 10.2% walk rate in that time was a bit high but he punched out 27.1% of batters faced and got opponents to hit the ball into the ground on 54.3% of balls in play.
The punchouts haven’t been there this year, which is why he’s now twice been designated for assignment. But with the trade deadline now passed, it’s harder for clubs to find useful pitching upgrades. Since Jackson has a good track record and would essentially be free, some team might take a shot on him soon.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Tigers Sign Luke Jackson, Designate Geoff Hartlieb
The Tigers have signed Luke Jackson to a one-year, Major League contract, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Jackson signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Rangers last winter and Texas is still responsible for most of the remaining salary still owed to the right-hander, with Detroit covering just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary. Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves on the 26-man and 40-man rosters. (The transactions were first noted earlier today by MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other members of the Tigers beat, who noted that Jackson had a locker and Hartlieb didn’t in the Detroit clubhouse.)
The Rangers just released Jackson yesterday following a two-day DFA period, so the righty not only quickly landed a new contract, but Jackson will get the opportunity to carve a niche for himself on a Tigers team in sore need of bullpen help. Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games, and the relief corps’ 7.04 ERA over that stretch has been a lead cause in what has become a major slump. Relief pitching is a clear priority heading into the deadline, and Jackson may be one of several bullpen additions that could be coming to Motown before July 31.
Jackson posted a 4.11 ERA and 53.8% grounder rate over 35 innings with Texas this season. That excellent grounder rate, some decent batted-ball luck (.272 BABIP), and an above-average 7.5% barrel rate helped Jackson limit the damage despite strikeout (15.8%) and walk (12.5%) rates that ranked near the bottom of the league. Control has long been an issue for Jackson, but the lack of whiffs is a surprise, as he had a 27.1 K% over 289 2/3 innings during the 2018-24 seasons. His overall effectiveness has tended to hinge on the success of his slider, and Jackson’s primary offering has only a -1 in Statcast’s Pitch Value metric this season.
While Jackson hasn’t looked very sharp, groundball specialists tend to have an even wider range of variance than most relievers. It was just in 2023 that Jackson had a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Giants, and his 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings for the 2021 Braves played a key role in Atlanta’s path to the World Series. At the cost of essentially nothing, there’s little risk for the Tigers in taking a flier on Jackson to see if a change of scenery can help him get on track.
Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Detroit two weeks ago, and he had a 9.00 ERA over two appearances and two innings with the Tigers at the MLB level when his contract was selected two days ago. A frequent visitor to DFA limbo, Hartlieb has been designated three times just within the last month — today’s move off the Tigers’ roster, and two previous instances when pitching with the Yankees.
Hartlieb declined outright assignments after clearing waivers in each of those two earlier DFAs and elected free agency, which is his right as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career. Chances are he’ll elect free agency again, and perhaps either re-sign with the Tigers on another minors deal or look elsewhere for another landing spot. Since Hartlieb is out of minor league options, he might well face more DFAs unless he can pitch consistently well enough to pitch in a big league bullpen.
Hartlieb has an ungainly 21.60 ERA in 3 1/3 total innings with New York and Detroit this season, boosting his career ERA to 7.95 over 82 2/3 innings with six different Major League clubs. His 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 Triple-A innings this year is much more palatable, and it could get Hartlieb another look from a team as at least minor league depth.
Rangers Release Luke Jackson
July 25: Jackson has been unconditionally released, the Rangers announced.
July 23: The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Jon Gray from the 60-day injured list. To make space on the active and 40-man rosters, reliever Luke Jackson has been designated for assignment.
Gray, 33, is in the final season of a four-year, $56MM contract signed in free agency. He’s been a solid if unspectacular presence in the middle of the Texas rotation, tossing a combined 387 1/3 innings of 4.16 ERA ball while fanning 22.4% of his opponents versus a 7.5% walk rate. Gray has yet to pitch this season after suffering a fracture when a comeback line-drive struck him in the forearm late in spring training.
It’s not immediately clear when or whether Gray will slot back into the rotation. The Rangers had given some thought to using him out of the bullpen over the winter, and the rotation in Texas has generally been strong. Kumar Rocker has been the least-effective Texas starter overall, but he’s rattled off a 3.34 ERA over his past six starts. Jack Leiter has pitched well of late as well. There were also plenty of trade rumblings about Gray in the winter, but his value isn’t exactly at a high point after missing the entire season to date.
At least for today, there’s no urgent rush to answer the question. Gray pitched on July 19, so his would-be turn in the rotation isn’t up yet. Texas is off tomorrow, too, affording them extra time to plan things out. Patrick Corbin gets the nod in tonight’s start against the visiting A’s. The Rangers have Rocker listed as probable for Friday, a TBD listed for Saturday and Leiter listed as Sunday’s probable starter. Gray’s return and tomorrow’s off-day could impact plans.
Jackson, 33, leads the Rangers with nine saves but hasn’t pitched especially well. He currently owns a 4.11 earned run average with rate stats that make even that number feel a bit fortunate. The right-hander’s 15.8% strikeout rate is the eighth-lowest mark among the 175 major league relievers to have tossed at least 30 innings this season. Only 17 of those 175 relievers have a higher walk rate than Jackson’s 12.5% clip, and he’s also plunked a pair of batters. Metrics like FIP (5.01) and SIERA (4.79) paint a rather unfavorable picture.
The Rangers signed Jackson to a one-year, $1.5MM deal in free agency. He’s already earned $450K of incentives based on appearances. He’s one game shy of a $175K bonus, but if the Rangers were truly concerned about him reaching those incentive milestones, they’d likely have made a move sooner. Jackson earned $75K for reaching 20 games, $100K for reaching 25 games, $125K for 30 games and $150K for 35 games.
Texas will have five days to trade Jackson, place him on outright waivers or place him on release waivers. He has enough service time to reject an outright and retain the remainder of his guaranteed salary anyhow, so it seems unlikely he’d accept an outright upon clearing waivers. A release is the most probable outcome, given that any team trading for Jackson would remain on the hook for the rest of his incentives (which continue in increasing increments up through 60 appearances). Upon clearing release waivers, he’d be free to sign anywhere for only the prorated league minimum, and the remainder of those incentives would become moot. Texas would be on the hook for the rest of his $1.5MM guarantee, minus the prorated minimum for any time he spends on another club’s roster.
Tyler Mahle Can Push The Rangers Over The Tax Line
The Rangers clearly want to avoid the competitive balance tax in 2025. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported as much way back in October and owner Ray Davis confirmed that plan to Grant in January.
There are likely a few reasons for the club taking this route. The Rangers were one of several clubs which had a broadcast deal with Main Street Sports, formerly known as the Diamond Sports Group. As that company was going through bankruptcy, several clubs saw their contracts fall apart. Some of those organizations renegotiated new deals with the company but with lower fees. Other wound up with the league running their broadcasts.
The Rangers took a different approach and decided to launch their own regional sports network (RSN). Several big market clubs own RSNs, either in whole or in part, and many of them are doing well financially. The Rangers may have taken a smart route in the long run but it also might take some time to get it set up from scratch.
With that uncertain financial situation, the club decided it would be a good time to reset its CBT status after paying the tax in 2023 and 2024. Teams face increasing tax rates for paying the CBT in consecutive years. A team that avoids the tax in one year can then go into the following year as a “first-time” payor. Most teams like to limbo under the line from time to time, just to go back to square one.
But the Rangers still wanted to compete. They signed multiple players this offseason, including Nathan Eovaldi, Joc Pederson, Kyle Higashioka, Patrick Corbin, Kevin Pillar and a whole bunch of relievers. In the end, they came close to the line without going over it, at least according to publicly available metrics. RosterResource currently pegs them at $236.4MM, less than $5MM from the $241MM base threshold. Cot’s Baseball Contracts has them even closer at $237.8MM. Those are just estimates but they are probably close to accurate, given that the club wanted to be a bit under.
However, a club’s CBT number isn’t calculated until the end of the season, with any in-season developments being factored in. That includes contract bonuses/incentives for guys already on the club. Any players added midseason, such as in deadline trades, would also count.
That will be a situation worth watching in the coming months as the Rangers are currently atop the American League West with a 14-10 record. Assuming they stay in the race into the month of July, they should be deadline buyers. But if they want to stay under the tax, they may need their moves to be revenue neutral, or they might even need to move some money off their books.
Creeping just barely over the line wouldn’t lead to a massive tax bill. The club would be a third-time payor and subject to a 50% base tax rate. A hypothetical overage of $1MM would only lead to $500K in taxes, which is nothing for a baseball club. But it would mean the club would also face a 50% base tax rate in 2026, whereas ducking under the line this year and becoming a “first-time” payor means a 20% base tax rate next year. Avoiding the tax also changes the penalties and compensation for qualifying offer situations, providing another incentive to a team to stay under the line if they are near it.
In short, the CBT number is a living, breathing thing which will be moving throughout the year and it should have a real impact on the club’s deadline approach. There are many players with bonuses in their contract, but Tyler Mahle is the most notable with $5MM. Assuming the calculations of the club’s current CBT number are correct, that means he can single-handedly push them over the line.
Mahle was coming off May 2023 Tommy John surgery when the Rangers signed him to a back-loaded deal heading into 2024. It was a two-year, $22MM guarantee, with the Rangers knowing they likely wouldn’t get much in 2024. As such, they only paid him $5.5MM in the first year, followed by $16.5MM in 2025 with $5MM also available in incentives.
As expected, the Rangers didn’t get much from Mahle last year. He came off the injured list in August and made just three starts before some shoulder tightness put him back on the IL again. He stayed there for the remainder of the campaign.
Now in 2025, the Rangers seem to be getting what they hoped for. Mahle has been healthy and also in excellent form. He has a 0.68 earned run average though his first five starts. There’s a bit of luck in there from a .156 batting average on balls in play and 90.9% strand rate but he’s been a big part of their early-season success regardless.
The only downside for the Rangers is that Mahle’s bonuses are very achievable. MLBTR has learned that he gets an extra $500K for getting to 100 innings, $1MM each at 110, 120 and 130 innings, then $1.5MM at 140 innings.
He’s not a lock to earn the full $5MM, as he only has one season in his career where he got to 140 innings. He was still getting optioned to the minors at times in 2018 and 2019 and then fully established himself during the shortened 2020 season, before logging 180 frames in 2021. Shoulder troubles capped him at 120 2/3 in 2022, and then the aforementioned Tommy John surgery limited him in the following two seasons. Still, with the Rangers so close to the line, it could be a notable development even if he gets into triple digits and nudges them closer a million or two.
If he stays healthy, he would unlock the full $5MM easily. The Rangers might be tempted to back off his workload, as they did with Andrew Heaney in 2023. Heaney had a $13MM player option for 2024, which would bump up to $20MM if he hit 150 innings in 2023. The Rangers moved him to the bullpen to prevent that from happening, with Heaney finishing the year at 147 1/3 innings.
Doing the same with Mahle might be tricky if he continues pitching well. The Rangers have Cody Bradford, Jon Gray and Jack Leiter on the injured list. Kumar Rocker has a 6.38 ERA through four starts this year. Corbin is holding his own right now but hasn’t had an ERA under 5.00 in a full season since 2019. Jacob deGrom and Eovaldi are out to good starts but each is in his mid-30s with a notable injury track record. In short, this team might need Mahle more than the 2023 Rangers needed Heaney.
There are other players who could also factor in to lesser degrees. Luke Jackson is the second most notable after Mahle, as he is earning a $1.5MM base salary but could earn as much as $4MM via incentives, an extra $2.5MM. He can unlock $75K for pitching in 20 games, $100K at 25, $125 at 30, $150K at 35, $175K at 40, $225K at 45, $250K at 50, $300 at 55 and $350K at 60. That’s potentially an extra $1.75MM just for appearances. There’s another $750K for games finished: $50K for 25, $100K for 30, $150K for 35, $200K for 40 and $250K for 45. He has taken over the club’s closer role in the early going and already has nine games finished and ten appearances overall.
Corbin has batches of bonuses based both on innings pitched and relief appearances, so he should get paid some extra money as long as he’s healthy, regardless of which role the Rangers have him in. He gets $100K at 40 and 55 innings, $150K at 70 and 85, $200K at 100 and 115, $250K at 130, 145 and 160, then $350K at 170. He also gets $100K for 35 relief appearances, $150K for 40, $200K for 45, $250K for 50, $300K for 55. He’s in the rotation for now and those relief appearance bonuses are unlikely to be a factor, but he could certainly earn more money based on innings pitched. Getting to 170 innings pitched and unlocking all the bonuses would be an extra $2MM.
Chris Martin can earn an extra $150K by getting to 45 innings pitched this year and again at 50 frames, followed by $200K at 55 innings. Hoby Milner can get an extra $100K at 35 and then 45 innings, then an extra $150K at 55 and 65. Jacob Webb is making $1.25MM this year but can get that to $1.5MM via incentives worth $250K. MLBTR has learned that Webb gets $50K at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 innings pitched. Josh Sborz can unlock an extra $25K at five innings, $50K at 10, $75K at 15, $100K at 20. He underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss at least the first half of the season.
deGrom and Eovaldi have the same awards bonuses. They can earn an extra $250K for winning the Cy Young this year, as well as $200K, $150K, $100K or $50K for finishing second, third, fourth or fifth in the voting. They can also get $150K for winning World Series MVP, as well as $100K for getting an All-Star selection, a Gold Glove award, or LCS MVP. Pederson can get an extra $150K for winning MVP, $100K for an All-Star selection or World Series MVP, plus $50K for for a Silver Slugger or LCS MVP.
All of those bonuses could nudge the Rangers closer to the line or even over it, which will make for an interesting balancing act this summer. As mentioned, they will almost certainly be looking for upgrades as the deadline rolls around but they might also have to move some money around if they continue to plan on avoiding the tax.
Pederson is out to an awful start, so maybe they try to flip him somewhere else, though they would surely have to attach prospect talent in order to convince another club to absorb his contract. He is earning $13MM this year and will be owed $18.5MM next year. He can opt out after 2025 with the club able to override that by picking up a two-year option at $18.5MM annually for 2026 and 2027. If he continues struggling, he will obviously not take that opt-out.
Gray is making $13MM this year, the final season of his contract. He has been on the injured list all season due to a wrist fracture and it’s unclear when he’ll be back. It’s possible the Rangers won’t need him in the rotation once he’s healthy, depending on how others are performing. His deal has an AAV of $14MM, so trading him just ahead of the deadline could shave almost $5MM off the club’s CBT number. However, doing so would subtract from the club’s rotation depth. His trade value will also depend on how he heals up and performs in the coming months.
There are a great many factors at play here, but taking them all into consideration, it feels as though the Rangers are going to be right near the edge. If they abandon their desire to avoid the tax, that could simplify a lot. But if not, they will have to be watching all these numbers in the coming months.
Photos courtesy of Jerome Miron and Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
Rangers Sign Luke Jackson
The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve signed righty Luke Jackson to a one-year, major league contract. Righty Josh Sborz was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Sborz is recovering from November shoulder surgery. Jackson, who is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, is reportedly guaranteed $1.5MM plus performance bonuses.
Jackson, 33, returns to the organization that originally selected him with the No. 45 overall pick in the 2010 draft. Texas traded Jackson to the Braves in 2016, receiving pitchers Brady Feigl and Tyrell Jenkins in return. Neither wound up throwing a major league pitch for the Rangers, while Jackson eventually emerged as a valuable setup man for the Braves, with his best year coming during the team’s 2021 World Series campaign.
Tommy John surgery cost Jackson the 2022 season — his final year of control with Atlanta before becoming a free agent. He landed a two-year, $11.5MM pact with the Giants in free agency, pitching well in year one of the deal (33 1/3 innings, 2.97 ERA in his return from surgery) before struggling in year two. He went back to the Braves alongside Jorge Soler in a salary-driven deadline swap. Jackson posted a 4.50 ERA in 18 innings with the Braves but also walked 13% of his opponents.
Jackson’s 5.09 ERA in 53 innings last season isn’t encouraging, but he posted a 1.98 ERA and that 2.97 mark on either end of his elbow surgery. Between those two seasons, he totaled 97 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 28% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. He worked plenty of high-leverage spots, particularly with Atlanta in 2021, when he racked up a career-best 31 holds.
That’ll be the form the Rangers hope to capture in 2025. Jackson’s 94.7 mph average fastball this past season was down noticeably from his 96.1 mph peak, but he averaged only 94.4 mph in 2023, so there’s evidence to suggest he can succeed even if his heater never quite bounces back to pre-surgery levels. Jackson also induced chases off the plate at a solid 31.8% clip and recorded a strong 13.5% swinging-strike rate. His command has never been great and has been particularly problematic since his elbow troubles arose, but he can still miss bats and pile up grounders — as evidenced by last year’s 50.7% clip.
Jackson becomes the incredible seventh new addition to a completely rebuilt Rangers bullpen this offseason. Texas saw Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin become free agents at season’s end. With the team’s priority being to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi and add some bats who could help remedy last year’s struggles versus fastballs, the bulk of their offseason spending went to a three-year deal, $75MM for Eovaldi and a two-year, $37MM deal for Joc Pederson. Ownership has been steadfast in its desire to drop back under the luxury tax, leaving president of baseball operations Chris Young to take a volume-based approach to rounding out the relief corps rather than doling out pricey eight-figure deals to keep Yates, Leclerc and Robertson (who’s still unsigned but will presumably land an eight-figure deal himself, or at least close to it).
Chris Martin‘s $5.5MM guarantee is the most expensive commitment Texas has made to a reliever this winter. The Rangers have also signed Hoby Milner ($2.5MM), Jacob Webb ($1.25MM), Shawn Armstrong ($1.25MM) and Luis Curvelo ($750K) to big league contracts. Lefty Robert Garcia was acquired from the Nationals in a trade that sent first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and his own eight-figure salary to Washington, thereby creating some flexibility for relatively big-money signings of Eovaldi and Pederson.
Texas was only about $7MM from the luxury tax threshold before agreeing to terms with Jackson. It stands to reason that he’s inking a similarly cost-effective deal to the ones signed by Milner, Webb and Armstrong. Unlike that trio, he does have a fair bit of high-leverage experience, which could give him a leg up when it comes to auditioning for setup or even closing work. If the Rangers want to leave some powder dry for in-season acquisitions, they might not have much capacity left for adding further big league free agents between now and Opening Day.
Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported the $1.5MM guarantee.