The Rangers have signed righty Chris Tillman to a minors deal, per a club announcement. He’d recently elected free agency from the Orioles (following a DFA) after struggling throughout the entire season while playing on a one-year, $3MM contract. The Baltimore organization will remain responsible for the balance of the $3MM they promised Tillman over the winter, less any league-minimum earnings he obtains in Texas.
Tillman’s fall from the Orioles’ most consistent starters to his current status as a minor league roll of the dice was startlingly precipitous. As recently as 2016, he turned in a solid 3.77 ERA with respectable peripherals over the course of 30 starts and 172 innings of work. He, in fact, started the American League Wild Card game for the O’s that season.
Taking a further look back, from 2012-16, Tillman gave Baltimores 844 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball, averaging 7.0 strikeouts and 3.1 walks per nine innings pitched. While he was never an ace, he was good for 30-plus starts per season and generally turned in quality run-prevention numbers during his peak years.
Shoulder issues torpedoed Tillman’s season in 2017, though, when he was one of the least-effective pitchers in all of Major League Baseball (7.84 ERA, 24 homers allowed in 93 innings). He returned to the only organization with which he has ever appeared in the Majors this offseason on a make-good deal, but to this point he’s been unable to do so. Tillman has made seven starts and been hammered for a 10.46 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with more walks allowed (17) than strikeouts recorded (13).
Now, Tillman will hope for an opportunity at a rebound in a new setting, though Globe Life Park in Arlington (if he ever reaches the Majors in Texas) is hardly an ideal setting for a homer-prone pitcher to return to form. The Rangers, though, have already traded Cole Hamels to the Cubs and has little in the way of stability among the current group of starters.
Veterans Bartolo Colon and Yovani Gallardo have eaten innings but pitched poorly on the whole, with the latter in particular struggling to keep runs off the board. Offseason signee Mike Minor has underwhelmed in his return to a starting role after dominating as a reliever in Kansas City last year, while southpaw Martin Perez has been the least effective of the bunch. Rookies Ariel Jurado and Yohander Mendez are candidates to make some starts down the stretch, but clearly depth is an issue.
Great news, Hope they activate him in four game series with Baltimore so the O’s can get an easy win. Tilly is toast
He might have a renaissance against our lineup.
The rangers? Really? He’s homer prone now…how much worse can it be?
I thought he’d go somewhere like the Pirates or Padres. Big ballpark or a pitching coach who can fix him.
Texas has a rotation of Colon, Minor, Perez, Gallardo, and recently recalled AA pitcher Jurado.
Texas is like 400 games back in the AL west. As long as he can go out and pitch 5 innings every 5th game they will be happy.
Texas will not be happy for a couple of years most likely.
The Astros and Cubs have shown that the way to make the fans happy in the end is to tank for a few years and get the best players in each draft.
Not when half of the league is also doing it now
Royals too
The Cubs took 100+ years and how many rebuilds before getting it right? Sure, use them as your model. If you look at the playoff contenders each year, you will notice that how they built their teams were different. There is not a “one way” to do it. Smaller market teams can’t afford to tank financially.
I agree, its definitely different with every team. The Orioles have tried it several times and have failed. They seem to fail at every approach. With them i just think it is a stupid FO and a greedy owner. They need a owner who wants to win and a GM like Cashman or Theo that know how to get it done. Duquette is a complete moron and Angelos only cares about making and keeping his money.
Or we can just do it the same way JD did it the first time. He put the players on the field to get to two world series. He did his job and the players failed him so I am confident he can do it again. Cubs and Astros modeled their rebuild off the Rangers but just took it to even more of an extreme.
If he gets 1 time through a lineup without giving up 4 runs, that’s a quality start for Tilly.
I wish him luck. He was our skid stopper for several years.
There’s no way he goes out and pitches 5 innings a start. He made 7 starts and a few relief appearances and still rallied on 26+ innings.
Tillman is finished. If the orioles can’t find innings for you at this point, no one should. I don’t know who’s our 5th starter now. Hess isn’t going to cut it. At least he can help us lose a few more.
Everyone who pitches in Camden Yards is homer prone. They need to erect 100 foot tall outfield walls.
The Rangers will bring in anyone with an attached arm because it’s still better than what they currently have. The Padres were the same way.
Call it when Baltimore cut him! Texas needs arms in the bullpen and rotation
I remember someone saying that, Bc I thought it would actually be a good fit. He is HR prone, but as a RP in Texas, they could do a lot worse. And if he gets his confidence back and he’s healthy, I think he could work his way into their rotation.
I don’t see Tillman as much of a reliever. He didn’t have great velocity before and now he’s sitting around 89. I think you’re better off with a younger no name guy off the scrap heap at this point.
Called it… Great pick up by the AAA Rangers. Major upgrade.
I love the sarcasm
I think Tillman can be salvaged. He had a very good year in 2016, flopped in 2017, and continued to struggle this season. There is something in his delivery that has changed – for the worse – and I think it can be fixed. He has been compensating for a “sore” shoulder as the reason for his terrible season. If Rangers can identify the problem by looking at the videos from 2016 compared to 2017/2018 look for an adjustment.
Yeah, I’m sure Baltimore never thought of that.
They probably didn’t…..
The O’s thought it was the shoulder and gave him ample opportunities to get it back but in the end his fastball just is flat and has no life. His command is poor and his offspeed stuff hangs around the plate. Tilly did a great job for a couple of years but I can’t see how he can ever find that again.
They did work on it. They saw a few things wrong an addressed it. They actually tried a lot with him. He was getting destroyed while pitching at Aberdeen. Sometimes a player just loses it and can never get it back. I think he is one of those players. I think mentally he is checked out. Sadly i don’t see him being in the majors after this year.
You have to pull for a guy like Tillman who gave Baltimore some great outings and was always a gentleman in these days of everybody stepping hard on someone else for no reason.
Tillman might still be able to turn it around but Brocail isn’t the pitching coach you go to when you can’t pitch. He’s the one you go to when you want to learn what not to do. Brocail is possibly the worst pitching coach in the MLB and the included all the minor league levels. He hasn’t had one pitcher actually advance under him, now he has seen some guys come up with promise, and come over in trades and FA with talent only to help them fail, and regress. Just look at Hamels first start with the Cubs, new locale but more importantly new coach. Rangers are rebuilding, but they need to revise their pitching and hitting instructors too.
Tillmans fall from grace is almost as immediate texas rangers is
Gallardo has done a decent enough job preventing runs since rejoining the Rangers. His numbers are better than Colon’s so I’m not sure why you’re saying Gallardo in particular has struggled
They’ve been nearly identical. Gallardo slightly higher ERA. Both are toast. As is Tillman. They can have a rotation full of over the hill vets.
He was getting destroyed this year in single A and not even Frederick Single A but Aberdeen and that people is a sign that he has nothing left. Has lost 5 mph off fastball and has no break or much command of his secondary stuff. Good luck Rangers, you are in with a massive crapfest with him. I don’t see him in the league next year.
but he is also not costing the Rangers anything to get a look at him and see if they can do anything with him. Worth the minimal risk.