Willie Calhoun Begins Rehab Assignment
Rangers corner outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun began a minor league rehab assignment this evening, the team announced. He has been assigned to the club’s Arizona Complex League affiliate.
Calhoun hasn’t played since June 26, when he suffered a forearm fracture after being hit by a Kris Bubic pitch. The injury ultimately required surgical repair, which looked at the time as if it could threaten the remainder of his season. It now seems Calhoun is likely to make it back for the season’s final couple weeks. Position players can spend up to twenty days on a rehab assignment.
The forearm fracture was only the latest in a long line of health woes for Calhoun, who was also hit in the face with a pitch during Spring Training in 2020 and has dealt with a few leg issues. The injuries have perhaps impacted Calhoun’s productivity, as the former top prospect has underperformed over the last two seasons. After a 2019 season in which he hit .269/.323/.524 and looked to be emerging as one of the game’s better young bats, the lefty-hitting Calhoun has stumbled to a .233/.293/.344 mark in 334 plate appearances going back to the beginning of 2020.
The 48-88 Rangers have long been simply playing out the stretch, so the season’s final few weeks aren’t of much importance from a team perspective. But getting back onto the field and logging some at-bats could be meaningful for Calhoun as he looks to put his past couple years behind him. The 26-year-old is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, and he remains under team control through the end of 2024.
In other injury news, Levi Weaver of the Athletic reports (Twitter link) that reliever Matt Bush has begun throwing at the Rangers’ complex in Arizona. It seems unlikely he’ll have sufficient time to build his way back up to big league readiness before the end of the season, but Weaver adds that the hope is for Bush to log some minor league action over the next few weeks.
The 35-year-old Bush made just three appearances in the first week of April before landing on the injured list with elbow inflammation and a flexor strain. That came after the righty missed all of the 2019 and 2020 seasons with elbow injuries that eventually culminated in a Tommy John surgery. Even getting into a few minor league games before the end of the year would be a positive development if Bush is looking to make another run in 2022.
Texas could bring Bush back next season via arbitration for very little financial cost, although doing so would require keeping him on the 40-man roster all offseason. After three consecutive lost years, he seems likelier to be non-tendered and potentially brought back on a minor league deal.
Rangers Sign Domingo Leyba
The Rangers announced they’ve signed infielder Domingo Leyba to a minor league contract. He has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.
Leyba has seen big league action in parts of two seasons, including his most extended run this year. Originally a prospect in the Tigers’ system, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in 2015. The switch-hitter reached the majors with Arizona and picked up 30 plate appearances in 2019 but he missed all of last season and was passed through outright waivers over the offseason. The D-Backs brought Leyba back in May but quickly waived him again, and he landed with the Orioles via claim that time around.
Baltimore kept Leyba on the roster for a couple months but eventually passed him through waivers themselves. He was released in late August. The 25-year-old has tallied 126 career plate appearances at the big league level, hitting just .152/.238/.223 with one home run. He’s been far better at Triple-A, though, posting a .307/.355/.542 mark over 609 trips to the plate. Leyba has ample experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop.
The Rangers obviously aren’t competing for a postseason spot, but there’s no harm in bolstering the organizational depth chart. If Texas selects Leyba to the major league roster before the end of the season, he’d remain controllable for the next few years. If he doesn’t crack the big league club, Leyba will qualify for minor league free agency this winter.
Every Team’s Initial September Callups
The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:
- Angels: RHP Oliver Ortega (full post), INF Luis Rengifo. LHP Patrick Sandoval transferred to 60-day IL
- Astros: RHP Jose Urquidy (activated from 10-day IL), RHP Enoli Paredes
- Athletics: DH Khris Davis, C Austin Allen (full post)
- Blue Jays: RHP Nate Pearson, RHP Bryan Baker (full post)
- Braves: IF Orlando Arcia, RHP Jacob Webb
- Brewers: C Luke Maile, RHP Justin Topa, 1B Daniel Vogelbach (activated from 60-day IL). C Manny Pina placed on 10-day IL, LHP Angel Perdomo transferred to 60-day IL
- Cardinals: RHP Brandon Dickson (full post), C Ali Sanchez. RHP Ryan Helsley transferred to 60-day IL
- Cubs: RHP Adbert Alzolay (activated from 10-day IL), Dillon Maples (activated from 10-day IL)
- Diamondbacks: RHP Luke Weaver (activated from 60-day IL), OF Stuart Fairchild
- Dodgers: UTIL Zach McKinstry, RHP Ryan Meisinger. IF Sheldon Neuse, OF Luke Raley transferred to 60-day IL
- Giants: LHP Caleb Baragar, IF Thairo Estrada, RHP John Brebbia. RHP Johnny Cueto placed on 10-day IL
- Indians: RHP Triston McKenzie (activated from 10-day IL), OF Harold Ramirez (activated from 10-day IL)
- Mariners: LHP Justus Sheffield (activated from 10-day IL), IF Kevin Padlo
- Marlins: LHP Trevor Rogers (activated from restricted list), IF Joe Panik (activated from COVID-19)
- Mets: OF Albert Almora Jr., OF Khalil Lee
- Nationals: LHP Alberto Baldonado (full post), C Alex Avila (activated from 10-day IL)
- Orioles: RHP Dusten Knight, LHP Alexander Wells
- Padres: RHP Dinelson Lamet (activated from 10-day IL), RHP Taylor Williams (activated from 60-day IL). LHP Matt Strahm transferred to 60-day IL
- Phillies: RHP Cam Bedrosian, RHP Ramon Rosso (full post). 1B Rhys Hoskins transferred to 60-day IL, shortstop Didi Gregorius placed on restricted list
- Pirates: RHP Shelby Miller (full post), RHP Max Kranick
- Rangers: LHP Hyeon-jong Yang, IF Charlie Culberson (activated from COVID-19 IL), RHP Kohei Arihara (activated from 60-day IL). INF Ryan Dorow — originally selected as a COVID replacement — removed from 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A
- Rays: RHP David Robertson (full post), SS Taylor Walls
- Red Sox: RHP John Schreiber (full post), INF Jack Lopez, UTIL Danny Santana (activated from 10-day IL), RHP Ryan Brasier (activated from 60-day IL). SS Xander Bogaerts, IF Yairo Munoz placed on COVID-19 IL
- Reds: OF Delino DeShields Jr. (full post), INF Alejo Lopez
- Rockies: RHPs Antonio Santos, Justin Lawrence, Julian Fernandez (full post). Jon Gray placed on injured list
- Royals: RHP Jackson Kowar, SS Adalberto Mondesi (activated from 10-day IL), LHP Jake Brentz (activated from 10-day IL). RHP Jakob Junis placed on 10-day IL
- Tigers: RHP Wily Peralta (activated from 10-day IL), INF Niko Goodrum (activated from 10-day IL)
- Twins: RHP Randy Dobnak (activated from 60-day IL), RHP Joe Ryan (full post). RHP Kenta Maeda transferred to 60-day injured list
- White Sox: RHP Matt Foster, 1B/OF Gavin Sheets, INF/OF Romy Gonzalez (full post). Jake Lamb designated for assignment (full post), Tim Anderson placed on injured list
- Yankees: OF Estevan Florial, RHP Brooks Kriske
Rangers Activate Jonah Heim From Injured List
The Rangers announced they’ve reinstated catcher Jonah Heim from the COVID-19 injured list. In a corresponding move, left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang was returned to Triple-A Round Rock.
Heim has been out for a little more than a week in health and safety protocols. He’ll now return to the catching group, where he’ll be backed up by Jose Trevino and Yohel Pozo. Acquired from the A’s over the offseason, Heim has hit .208/.245/.370 across 230 plate appearances during his first season in Texas.
Yang was selected last week when the Rangers lost a few players to the COVID IL. Because he was added as a replacement player, he has been removed from the 40-man roster without needing to be placed on waivers. The southpaw made just one appearance over the past few days, tossing two scoreless innings against the Astros on Saturday.
Heim becomes the first player affected by the Rangers’ recent coronavirus spread to make it back. Texas is still without Drew Anderson, Charlie Culberson, Dane Dunning, Mike Foltynewicz, Brock Holt and Spencer Howard because of virus-related reasons.
Rangers Sign Chase Anderson To Minors Contract
The Rangers have inked right-hander Chase Anderson to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). Anderson became a free agent two days ago after being released by the Phillies.
Should Anderson reach the Rangers’ active roster, Texas will owe him only the prorated portion of the minimum salary, as Philadelphia will cover the rest of the approximately $672K owed to Anderson from his guaranteed $4MM salary for the 2021 season. That makes it a pretty low-cost investment for the Rangers, who have been auditioning younger pitchers in the rotation but might need Anderson to soak up some innings.
For Anderson, he gets a chance to salvage something from what has been a very rough two-year run for the veteran righty. Since the start of the 2020 season, Anderson has a 6.94 ERA over 81 2/3 combined innings with the 2020 Blue Jays and the 2021 Phillies, with a garish 21 home runs allowed within that short sample size. Anderson was still managing to strike out a respectable number (24.7% strikeout rate) of batters during his season with Toronto, yet even that ability fell off the table this year, as Anderson had only a 16.3% strikeout rate over his 48 innings with the Phils.
Rangers Promote A. J. Alexy
The Rangers announced they’ve recalled right-hander A.J. Alexy to start this evening’s game against the Rockies. It’ll be the 23-year-old’s major league debut. Alexy was already added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.
An eleventh-round pick of the Dodgers out of a Pennsylvania high school in 2016, Alexy spent the first year of his career in the Los Angeles system. The Dodgers included him as part of a three-player package to land Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline. Alexy pitched very well at Low-A the following season, but he missed much of 2019 to injury and obviously couldn’t log any minor league action last year.
Despite missing almost two full seasons, Alexy hasn’t shown much sign of rust this year. He’s split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, pitching to a 1.66 ERA over 65 innings. Along the way, Alexy has struck out a whopping 29.8% of batters faced, although he’s partially offset that by issuing walks at a lofty 10.6% clip.
Alexy has been an inconsistent strike-thrower throughout his career. Both Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs and Baseball America suggest he’s likely to wind up in a bullpen role someday because of those control issues. Nevertheless, both outlets slotted him among the back half of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects thanks to the quality of his arsenal. Each of FanGraphs and BA suggest Alexy has a pair of plus offerings: a mid-high 90s fastball and a sharp 12-6 curveball, in addition to a passable changeup that serves as his third pitch.
The Rangers have almost no certainty in their starting rotation at the moment. Each of Spencer Howard, Dane Dunning and Mike Foltynewicz are on the COVID-19 injured list, forcing Texas to turn to a series of rookies in their place. Alexy becomes the third Rangers starter to make his MLB debut within the past week, joining Jake Latz and Glenn Otto. Amidst a larger-scale retooling effort, Texas figures to give continued chances to younger players over the season’s final five weeks as they look ahead to 2022.
Latz, however, has been returned to Round Rock after one appearance. Because he was selected as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be exposed to waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster. Latz will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not re-selected to the big league roster before November.
West Injury Notes: Paddack, Gray, Ibanez, Ohtani, Astros
Padres starter Chris Paddack appears to be ready to come off the IL to start Monday’s game in Arizona, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee says that Padres manager Jayce Tingler didn’t confirm the plan, but then later listed Paddack as Monday’s starter on Twitter.
For Paddack, his third big league season has been a disappointing one, logging an ERA of 5.13 over 93 innings. That’s a spike from last year’s 4.73 and his 3.33 mark from 2019. His strikeout rate has also gone in the wrong direction. After a solid 26.9% rate in his debut season, it dropped to 23.7% last year and sits at 22.5% so far this year. However, his walk rate has stuck around 5% in every season, which is excellent. (MLB average is 8.7% this year.)
Despite those struggles, the team has certainly missed Paddack. Since the righty went on the shelf July 31st with an oblique issue, the team has been on a disastrous slide. They’ve gone 9-15 so far in the month of August, surrendering the final National League playoff spot to Cincinnati. During that time, the rotation was missing not only Paddack, but also Yu Darvish. They tried to patch over those absences with the addition of Jake Arrieta, only to see him land on the IL himself after just one start of 3 1/3 innings. With Darvish having already returned and Paddack on the way, that could allow the team to steady the ship and finish strong, as they try to retake the Reds over the season’s final weeks.
Other notes from the west…
- Rockies starter Jon Gray left last night’s start after 48 pitches. Manager Bud Black told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, that the move was precautionary and related to some forearm tightness. Nick Groke of The Athletic gets a bit more granular, explaining that the injured area appears to be away from the ulnar collateral ligament, hopefully negating the worst fears of Rockies fans. Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen, it makes sense for the club to be cautious, as they are 11 games out of a playoff spot. Gray is a free agent at year’s end, but the Rockies are reportedly hoping to sign him to an extension. They will also have to decide on whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Gray would surely warrant the offer if he’s healthy. Over 806 2/3 career innings, Gray has an ERA of 4.52 while pitching primarily in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league, producing 15.7 fWAR.
- Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez left last night’s game with left hamstring tightness, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. She quotes Rangers manager Chris Woodward as being “not optimistic” about the injury. Regardless of the eventual severity of the injury, the club has every reason to be cautious, as they have one of the worst records in the league and no shot at contending. If this is the end of the season for Ibanez, it will go down as a solid rookie campaign for the 28-year-old. He’s hit .260/.304/.415, wRC+ of 96, while splitting time between first, second and third base, as well as one game in left field.
- Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch in last night’s game, while serving as the designated hitter. However, he stuck around for the remainder of the contest and x-rays on the hand came back negative. Angels manager Jeff Madden told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that Ohtani should be fine to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. That is good news for the club and baseball fans in general, as Ohtani is having the most unique and fascinating season that baseball has seen in quite some time, if not ever. He’s currently the MLB home run leader with 41, and has an overall slash line of .264/.363/.623, producing a wRC+ of 160 which is currently bested by only two other qualified hitters. (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper) All of that is combined with Ohtani’s 105 innings in the Angels’ starting rotation with an ERA of 3.00.
- The Astros could be getting a couple of players back this week. Jose Urquidy is pitching in a rehab game tonight, which could be his last before returning, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Urquidy has only been able to make 14 starts this season because of injuries but has been excellent when healthy, putting up an ERA of 3.38. It’s unclear who would be bumped from the rotation in his absence, but some have speculated that Luis Garcia could be an option. Garcia has already set a career high in innings pitched this year and has seen his results slip a bit recently. Since July 26th, he has an ERA of 4.22. The club has already moved another young starter, Cristian Javier, to the bullpen as a way to manage his workload. The Astros could also be welcoming Chas McCormick back later this week. General manager James Click told various reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26, that the outfielder could be back as soon as Friday. The club hasn’t suffered much in McCormick’s absence, given that Jake Meyers has been manning center field and has been on a tear. Since having his contract selected last month, in the first 20 games of his career, Meyers is slashing .323/.348/.523.
Rangers To Promote Glenn Otto
The Rangers will promote right-handed pitching prospect Glenn Otto to make his Major League debut tonight, per an announcement from their VP of communications, John Blake. They’ll need to formally select his contract to the Major League roster in order to do so, but Texas currently has multiple vacancies with several players in Covid-19 protocol.
The team has yet to specify whether Otto will be a permanent addition to the 40-man roster or a replacement player who can be removed from the roster without being exposed to waivers. He’d be eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft this winter though, so he’ll be formally added to the 40-man at some point between now and late November one way or another.
Otto, 25, was one of four players acquired from the Yankees in the trade that sent outfielder Joey Gallo and left-hander Joely Rodriguez to the Bronx. He currently ranks 12th among Rangers farmhands at Baseball America, where he draws praise for a newly added slider that has given him legitimate out pitches against both right- and left-handed hitters.
While Otto’s call to the big leagues is in part out of necessity — Dane Dunning, Mike Foltynewicz and Drew Anderson are all currently in Covid protocols — the right-hander has very much earned this opportunity with his results. He’s racked up 95 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A so far in 2021, pitching to a combined 3.20 ERA with outstanding strikeout and walk rates (35.4 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively). Otto has been particularly impressive in his two most recent Triple-A outings, firing 11 shutout innings with just two hits and three walks allowed against the top affiliates of the Padres and Dodgers.
Otto adds to a growing stable of young arms who could potentially form the core of the Rangers’ staff for the foreseeable future. He’ll join Dunning, fellow deadline acquisition Spencer Howard and lefties Kolby Allard and Taylor Hearn as immediate options for the Rangers, who also have a pair of Top 100 pitching prospects on the rise: 2018 first-rounder Cole Winn and this year’s No. 2 overall pick, Jack Leiter. The team could very well turn to the open market to add to that group this offseason, as general manager Chris Young has already stated he expects the team to be “very active” in free agency this winter.
Rangers Select Hyeon-jong Yang, Ryan Dorow
The Rangers are selecting the contracts of left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang and infielder Ryan Dorow before this evening’s game against the Indians, according to Levi Weaver of the Athletic (Twitter link). Catcher Jonah Heim is landing on the COVID-19 injured list, joining four other Rangers (Charlie Culberson, Brock Holt, Drew Anderson and Mike Foltynewicz) on the COVID list. It seems Spencer Howard and Dane Dunning could join them, as neither player accompanied the team to Cleveland as part of health and safety protocols. Weaver notes that left-hander Jake Latz is expected to be selected tomorrow as part of the roster maneuvering.
Yang returns for his second stint on the active roster. The KBO veteran signed a minor league deal with Texas over the winter and was selected to make his big league debut in late April. Yang went on to make eight appearances — including four starts — and posted a 5.59 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (15% and 11.8%, respectively) over 29 innings. Texas designated the 33-year-old for assignment and passed him through outright waivers in June. Yang has worked 45 frames with Triple-A Round Rock this season, posting a 5.60 ERA.
Dorow, who just turned 26 over the weekend, was selected by the Rangers in the 30th round of the 2017 draft out of Division III Adrian College in Michigan. That’s not the draft profile of a likely big leaguer, but Dorow has earned a look at the highest level against the odds with solid numbers up through Double-A. The right-handed hitter owns .260/.347/.405 line across 1455 professional plate appearances, including a .333/.394/.600 showing over 99 trips to the plate with Double-A Frisco this season. He’s struggled in his first look with Round Rock, hitting .210/.305/.359, but Dorow has ample experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop in the minors.
Like Dorow, Latz is in line for his first MLB opportunity. A fifth-rounder out of Kent State in that same draft, Latz has spent most of the season in Frisco. The 25-year-old has a 4.69 ERA over 63 1/3 innings, but he’s punched out a very strong 30.9% of batters faced. That’s come with a slightly elevated 10.3% walk rate, but Texas will give Latz a look in the hope he can carry over his strong bat-missing capabilities to the highest level. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Latz as the #50 prospect in the Texas organization in May, praising the southpaw’s above-average curveball.
Because that trio has been (or will be, in Latz’s case) selected to replace players landing on the COVID-19 IL, they can be removed from the active and 40-man rosters upon players’ returns from the COVID list. It seems they could be on the big league club for the near future, though, since COVID spread within the Texas clubhouse has now dealt a significant hit to their infield and rotation depth charts.
Young: Rangers Expect To Be “Very Active” In Free Agency
The Rangers had a quiet 2020-21 offseason, at least in terms of free agency, as the club focused on creating opportunities for younger players to prove themselves at the Major League level. Lance Lynn, Elvis Andrus, Rafael Montero and Rougned Odor were traded away. Nate Lowe, Dane Dunning and Jonah Heim were acquired and dropped right into the big league mix. Even the team’s limited free-agent activity was focused on younger names with multiple seasons of control: David Dahl, Mike Foltynewicz, Kohei Arihara.
The 2021-22 offseason could be a bit more active for the Rangers, however, as general manager Chris Young told reporters this week that he expects his club to be active in free agency this coming winter (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News).
“With the financial flexibility we have moving into the offseason, I expect us to be very active in the free agent market, targeting players who fit kind of our next few years and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Young said.
[Related: 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List]
The mention of “financial flexibility” is something of an understatement. The only two guaranteed salaries on the Rangers’ books for the 2022 season are those of Jose Leclerc ($4.75MM) and the aforementioned Arihara ($2.6MM). Looking solely at guaranteed contracts can be misleading when gauging a team’s payroll at times, as many clubs have large arbitration crops that will inflate that number further, but that’s not the case in Texas. Only Mike Foltynewicz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Matt Bush, Ronald Guzman and Willie Calhoun are up for arbitration this winter. Foltynewicz and Bush are non-tender candidates. Kiner-Falefa will be getting a raise on a $2MM salary. Guzman and Calhoun are first-time players whose platform seasons have been disrupted by serious injuries; neither will be costly.
The Rangers do still owe the Yankees about $12MM for the remainder of the Odor contract next season, and they’ll pay nearly $7MM to the Athletics as part of last offseason’s Elvis Andrus/Khris Davis swap. Even with arbitration raises and dead money owed from previous trades, however, the Rangers shouldn’t expect to pay any more than $30-35MM for the current roster. Considering this is a team that just opened a brand new park and trotted out an Opening Day payroll of $165MM as recently as four years ago, that level of bare-bones payroll commitments should leave them open to just about anything this winter.
That doesn’t mean that the Rangers will necessarily go wild and sign multiple players to $100MM-plus contracts this winter, of course. The current club is more than just a handful of free agents from competing, but it sounds as though the Rangers are willing to begin spending to augment the roster as they await the arrival of more prospects on the MLB scene. The Rangers’ farm isn’t necessarily elite, but Baseball America listed their system 11th on last week’s midseason farm rankings.
The upcoming class of free agents will be one of the deepest in recent memory. Much has understandably been made of the star-studded crop of free-agent shortstops — Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez — but the market will also be deep in outfielders (Nick Castellanos, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber, Michael Conforto and more) and in starting pitching (Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander, among others). The looming collective bargaining talks between the league and players association could give some teams pause, but those that are motivated to spend will have ample high-quality targets to pursue.