Headlines

  • Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline
  • Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib
  • Reds Release Jeimer Candelario
  • Dave Parker Passes Away
  • Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles
  • Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers, Michael Tonkin Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | January 8, 2019 at 11:42pm CDT

The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Michael Tonkin, according to Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The former Twins righty spent the 2018 season pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. He’s represented by Wasserman.

Tonkin, 29, posted a 3.71 ERA and saved a dozen games in 51 innings out of the Fighters’ bullpen, though his K/BB numbers took a dramatic turn for the worse in his lone season overseas. Missing bats was always a strong point for the lanky, 6’7″ righty when pitching in the Twins’ system, as he averaged 10.6 K/9 in parts of four Triple-A seasons and 9.2 K/9 in parts of five MLB campaigns. In Japan, however, he managed just a 33-to-23 K/BB ratio in those 51 frames — 5.8 strikeouts and 4.1 walks per nine innings.

Throughout his five seasons with the Twins, Tonkin pitched to a 4.43 ERA over the life of 146 2/3 innings. Control wasn’t a significant issue for him (3.3 BB/9), but Tonkin proved to be increasingly homer-prone as his time in the Majors wore on. Ultimately, he averaged 1.54 homers per nine innings pitched in the Majors and saw his ERA spike north of 5.00 in each of his final two seasons.

Tonkin averages 94 mph on his heater and pairs that primarily with a slider — a combo that resulted in a solid 11.3 percent swinging-strike rate from 2016-17. His penchant for serving up long balls doesn’t bode well for any time spent at Globe Life Park in Arlington, however, so the Rangers will need to curb that issue in a way the Twins couldn’t. He’ll be part of a fairly wide-open bullpen competition in Texas behind Jose Leclerc, Jesse Chavez and Chris Martin.

Share 0 Retweet 19 Send via email0

Texas Rangers Transactions Michael Tonkin

Free Agent Rumors: Moustakas, Phillies, ChiSox, Dozier, Mariners
Main
Dombrowski: Red Sox “Have Not Anticipated Large Expenditure For A Closer”
View Comments (12)
Post a Comment

12 Comments

  1. grapher0315

    6 years ago

    Gonna be interesting to see how he fares in that ballpark with his tendency to allow homers. Hope for the best. Could be a trade chip in June/July if homers are under control.

    1
    Reply
    • xXabial

      6 years ago

      its a minor league deal so until he hits the bugs the ball in his court

      Reply
  2. Codeeg

    6 years ago

    Strange, numbers usually improve in Japan. Not to say anything about the quality of their talent, just that there’s probably something wrong with Tonkin’s approach.

    2
    Reply
    • davidcoonce74

      6 years ago

      I assume that some pitchers have a problem dealing with the smaller baseball they use in Japan, but yeah, mostly pitchers seem to pitch better over there.

      Reply
  3. Megatron2005

    6 years ago

    Free Agency needs to pick up the pace already.

    2
    Reply
    • xXabial

      6 years ago

      it has with trades…this off season more active than last.

      its clear….teams are driving down the players price tag. I called it last off season and same this one.

      I would not spend that price for 1 player when a team can get 2.5 players at same price.

      1
      Reply
  4. Dutch Vander Linde

    6 years ago

    Until Harper and Machado sign their deals, free agency is going to be dead.

    1
    Reply
  5. wrigleywannabe

    6 years ago

    Would have been a good piece for the Dodgers to add. They need arms and bodies come post tear down time.

    Reply
  6. theloniouszen

    6 years ago

    I’m glad the Rangers and Tonkin were able to bridge their Gulf.

    Reply
  7. kleppy12

    6 years ago

    This is a guy who always seemed like he had the stuff to make it just couldn’t put it together.

    1
    Reply
  8. The Ranger Fan

    6 years ago

    Pretty interesting offseason for my Rangers, we still need a couple more starters and some bullpen help, seems to be a totally new stable of pitchers for us this year, hopefully the new coaching staff can pull them together. Now we need a 3rd baseman and center fielder,preferably a seasoned center fielder. But why is it all dragging out this year ?

    Reply
  9. NPB58

    6 years ago

    That MLB draw is difficult for some players to let go. I wonder if the Fighters showed little to no interest in bringing him back? Those 4 foreign roster spots are valuable in Japan. That might have been the deciding factor. If he still has options left, it very well could be an up and down season, or just down. I believe Chris Martin was sent down by the Rangers last year causing a riff momentarily, after he returned from the Fighter’s with a longer experience and better numbers. Another season with a different club in NPB with better money may have been the way for Tonkin to go, unless he didn’t have those opportunities. I wish him good luck.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

    Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

    Wander Franco Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

    Mariners Place Rowdy Tellez On Release Waivers

    Max Meyer To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

    Whit Merrifield Announces Retirement

    White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

    Corbin Carroll Placed On IL With Wrist Fracture

    Hoops Rumors Has The Latest On NBA Draft, Free Agency

    Mets Option Francisco Alvarez

    Reds To Promote Chase Burns For MLB Debut

    A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger

    Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

    Anthopoulos On Trading Chris Sale: “Will Not Happen”

    Recent

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Orioles Place Zach Eflin On Injured List

    Rockies Expected To Promote Yanquiel Fernandez

    Yankees Select Geoff Hartlieb, Place Fernando Cruz On 15-Day IL

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago White Sox

    Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Today At 3:30pm CT

    Padres Designate Logan Gillaspie For Assignment

    Phillies Reinstate Bryce Harper, Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment

    Athletics Select Colby Thomas

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version