Rangers Select Chase Anderson, Option Dane Dunning

5:15pm: The Rangers have officially announced the selection of Anderson’s contract and optioned right-hander Dane Dunning to the minor leagues in a corresponding move. Dunning, 29, was a standout member of the club’s pitching staff last year but has struggled to a 5.38 ERA in 90 1/3 innings of work this year. Texas also announced that infielder Justin Foscue had been recalled to fill the active roster spot vacated by Grossman.

3:50pm: The Rangers are set to select the contract of right-hander Chase Anderson, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided this afternoon. Anderson will need to be added to the club’s 40-man roster, though a corresponding 40-man move will not be necessary after the club lost outfielder Robbie Grossman to the Royals on waivers earlier today. A corresponding active roster move will still be necessary despite the open space made by Grossman’s exit, however, as the Rangers already have 13 pitchers on their active roster.

Anderson, 36, is a veteran of eleven big league seasons who will suit up for his ninth big league club when he first dons a Rangers uniform. Most recently, the right-hander pitched for the Red Sox earlier this year after signing a big league deal that guaranteed him $1.25MM. He pitched primarily in a multi-inning relief role with Boston and posted middling results overall with a 4.85 ERA that was 10% worse than average by ERA+ and an elevated 5.60 FIP in his 52 innings of work. Those lackluster results were accompanied by disappointing peripherals, as while Anderson averaged a career-best 93.8 mph on his fastball with the Red Sox he still struck out just 15.6% of batters faced, a career low for the righty.

Those struggles in Boston didn’t stop the Rangers from signing him to a minor league deal earlier this month. The early returns on his time in the organization have not been promising, however, as he’s been shelled to the tune of a 6.94 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work across four starts at Triple-A Round Rock to this point. Both Anderson and the Rangers are surely hoping that a move back to the majors and away from the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League will do the righty some good. The Rangers remain without Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle in the rotation, a reality which has forced the club to rely on the likes of Cody Bradford, Andrew Heaney, and Jose Urena for starts this year.

Though Urena recently rejoined the bullpen, that’s still left the club relatively thin in terms of capable multi-inning arms in their relief corps. That’s a void Anderson should have no trouble filling, as he’s swung between the rotation and bullpen on a regular basis as needed since 2020 after spending the early part of his career as a prototypical back-end starter with the Diamondbacks and Brewers. The results have left much to be desired over the past half decade, but the veteran should be well-equipped to soak up innings for a Rangers club that has no real hope of defending its 2023 World Series championship in the postseason this year as they navigate the stretch run.