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Rangers Sign Joe Gatto, Scott Heineman To Major League Deals

By Connor Byrne | December 3, 2020 at 2:17pm CDT

The Rangers have signed right-hander Joe Gatto to a major league contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. They also re-signed outfielder Scott Heineman to a majors pact, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. The team non-tendered Heineman on Wednesday. He has a split contract that would pay him $595K in the majors, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

It’s somewhat surprising that Gatto, who hasn’t pitched above Double-A ball to this point, received a big league deal. The 25-year-old spent a large portion of 2018 in Double-A and all of 2019 there with the Angels organization. He combined for a 5.36 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in 131 innings during those two seasons.

While Gatto hasn’t had great success in Double-A, he was a prospect of note during his younger days. A second-round pick of the Angels in 2014, Gatto ranked as one of their top 10 prospects at Baseball America during his first couple years with the franchise. Back when the team drafted him, Gatto was seen as one of the most talented righties to come out of New Jersey in recent memory.

Heineman, 27, has been with the Rangers since they used an 11th-rounder on him in 2015. He has often mashed in the minors, including when he hit .340/.412/.553 in 182 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019, but his success there hasn’t translated to the bigs. Heineman owns a .189/.259/.331 line with three home runs in 139 plate appearances as a Ranger.

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Texas Rangers Transactions Joe Gatto Scott Heineman

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View Comments (41)
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41 Comments

  1. mlb1225

    5 years ago

    I first thought they spelled Joey Gallo really wrong.

    4
    Reply
    • FredMcGriff for the HOF

      5 years ago

      Joe Gatto and Joey Gallo…. How confusing!

      4
      Reply
      • Datashark

        5 years ago

        Its Jerry Callo! not Gallo

        2
        Reply
  2. EliMorganFanClub

    5 years ago

    Joe Gatto? Look at him go! From comedian to major leaguer!

    9
    Reply
    • jkoch717

      5 years ago

      Captain Fat Belly!

      5
      Reply
      • Royalsfan12

        5 years ago

        LARRY!

        6
        Reply
        • EliMorganFanClub

          5 years ago

          I can hear his voice in my head

          1
          Reply
        • mnsportsfan

          5 years ago

          One of the best shows, hands down.

          3
          Reply
        • PutPeteRoseInTheHall

          5 years ago

          I wonder if he ever got his hedge clippers back

          Reply
        • i like al conin

          5 years ago

          Absolutely.

          Reply
    • PutPeteRoseInTheHall

      5 years ago

      Exactly what I thought of Lol

      Reply
    • datrain021

      5 years ago

      Guess he told the Jokers staff to suck it lol

      Reply
  3. K3vin

    5 years ago

    LARRY !!!!!!

    1
    Reply
  4. Rangers29

    5 years ago

    Who tf is Joe Gatto lmao.

    2
    Reply
    • Rangers29

      5 years ago

      Heineman is a good signing btw, a good backup.

      Reply
    • Nothing

      5 years ago

      It’s the Impractical Jokers guy. Check the show out if you’ve never watched it, it’s hilarious.

      4
      Reply
      • Datashark

        5 years ago

        Their Dinner Party stuff is WEAK!

        Reply
    • DarkSide830

      5 years ago

      former solid prospect in the Angles system.

      Reply
  5. towinagain

    5 years ago

    Can’t wait to see those cat like reflexes on defense haha

    Reply
  6. iang2424

    5 years ago

    Don’t understand non-tender to Heineman then resign him to a major league deal. Feel like it should’ve been a minors deal that way they could keep the 40 man open. Back up to 38 now.

    Reply
    • Dorothy_Mantooth

      5 years ago

      It’s a two-way deal, so they are protected if he doesn’t fare well. He only gets his $600K salary if his on the ML roster.

      Reply
      • iang2424

        5 years ago

        Yeah I’ve seen that report. Still weird either way.

        1
        Reply
        • dtdt

          5 years ago

          On a split contract, the player’s salary in the minors must be at least a certain percentage of what he earned the previous year. Non-tendering Heineman allows the Rangers to get around that and pay him at a lower rate in the minors.

          Reply
  7. HALfromVA

    5 years ago

    Maybe Heineman will get an extended look next year, finally. Give the guy regular at-bats, and let’s see what he can do.

    Reply
  8. Metsfan9

    5 years ago

    I consider myself a pretty huge baseball fan but I sincerely have no idea who Joe Gatto is. Good luck to him though

    1
    Reply
  9. rangers13

    5 years ago

    I can say I have never heard of Gatto before and I think Heineman signing makes 0 sense at a major league level, unless he is going to LF, be part of a trade, or Rangers, hope I am wrong are looking to deal Gallo somewhere so Heineman serves in LF with Renfroe, Duval, Dahl, Schwarber, Rosario heading to RF.

    Reply
  10. rangers13

    5 years ago

    I wonder if JD being the idiot he is considering packaging Gallo in some sort of deal to acquire Snell or Sonny Gray or some other coveted player.

    Reply
    • Nothing

      5 years ago

      Lindor LMAO! Just to let him walk after 1 year.

      Reply
  11. dudeman40

    5 years ago

    Scratching my head on Heinamen – does this save a few bucks this way? Good minors numbers but really done nothing to deserve a majors contract.
    Let the churning begin ✔️✔️✔️

    Reply
  12. Angelic Visitations

    5 years ago

    Gatto sits in the mid-90’s with a plus 12-6 curve. His biggest issue is that his fastball doesn’t move at all. Straight 96 in the majors is going to travel 450 get if the hitter knows it’s coming.

    1
    Reply
  13. DarkSide830

    5 years ago

    Gatto? really?

    Reply
  14. richt

    5 years ago

    It’s good that he’s a pitcher because I feel like someone named Joe Gatto from Jersey isn’t who you want to have access to a baseball bat…

    1
    Reply
  15. yanksfan2010

    5 years ago

    With Captain Fat Belly on the team, they are sure to win, I wonder if Brian Quinn will get called up soon.

    Reply
    • lefty177 3

      5 years ago

      I’m thinking Sal Fasano…I mean Vulcano

      Reply
  16. HalosHeavenJJ

    5 years ago

    Had the pleasure of interviewing Gatto a few years ago. Very nice guy. I’m surprised he received a big league deal but wish him well.

    Reply
  17. HALfromVA

    5 years ago

    Heineman’s never been given a real shot at regular playing time. I’d like to see him compete with Calhoun for LF. Let’s give the guy a legitimate shot. Based on his AAA numbers, he deserves a good look.

    Reply
  18. jorge78

    5 years ago

    Never doubt the GENIUS of of the Rangers GM…..

    Reply
  19. CowboysoldierFTW

    5 years ago

    So when do they sign the other 3 Jokers? Put all 4 of them on the field and maybe it will take away attention to how UGLY the stadium is. And yes I toured the thing and it is hideous. The old park was so beautiful!!!!

    Reply
  20. LordD99

    5 years ago

    They see something in Gatto that are not evident in his minor league numbers.

    Reply
  21. James1955

    5 years ago

    Mets fans expect to sign the top free agents every year and trade top prospects for star players every year,

    Reply
  22. sportsguy24/7

    5 years ago

    Way too many proven players with Major League time on their resumes to sign Gatto to a Major League deal. This is about the 3rd or 4th time a club has reached into the AA realm to sign a guy to a big league contract over more-deserving, proven players. Such a joke! Wonder if the union is taking note and has a plan, although I doubt it since the teams have been owning the players negotiations lately. Might be time for a strike…

    Reply

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