The Rangers have agreed to sign outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a minor league deal with a spring invite, executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. Ludwick can earn $1.75MM if he makes the big league roster out of camp, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
A 36-year-old veteran of a dozen MLB campaigns, Ludwick has had a fairly rough go of things since inking a two-year, $15MM with the Reds before the 2013 campaign. He missed much of the first year with shoulder surgery, then slashed .244/.308/.375 over 400 plate appearances last year. In the aggregate, he provided below-replacement-level production to Cincinnati in that stretch.
Of course, a more optimistic look would note that Ludwick was a .275.346/.531 hitter and provided 26 home runs as recently as 2012, and had generally hit at a comfortably above-average clip prior to that season. Texas will be glad to take a risk-free look this spring before deciding whether to commit to Ludwick.
