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Rangers Select David Carpenter

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The Rangers have selected the contract of righty David Carpenter, per a club announcement. He’ll take the place of outfielder Zack Granite, who was optioned back.

Carpenter will see MLB action for the first time in quite some time. He last appeared with the Nationals back in 2015, with health problems halting what had been a productive career.

After some indy ball action and a Driveline makeover, Carpenter earned a shot with the Rangers this spring. The 33-year-old has turned in 15 1/3 innings of 1.76 ERA ball thus far at Triple-A, allowing just ten hits and posting a strong combination of 17 strikeouts and four walks.

Rangers Notes: Odor, Gallo, Heineman

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Rougned Odor’s persistent offensive struggles have become difficult to overlook, but it doesn’t sound as though there’s much thought to benching him or sending him down to Triple-A for a reset. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that while veteran Logan Forsythe and journeyman Danny Santana have each outperformed Odor, manager Chris Woodward continued to support his struggling second baseman this week. “I would only make that decision if I thought Rougie was to the point where, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ If he lost hope,” said Woodward of Odor, who is hitting just .161/.231/.329 through 170 plate appearances. “If he keeps fighting the way he does, I feel like I’ve got to support that.” The fact that Odor inked a seven-year, $49.5MM contract on the heels of a 33-homer campaign in 2016 surely plays into the calculus as well, of course. He’s being paid $7.5MM this season and still owed $36MM from 2020-22 (including a buyout on a 2023 option) under the terms of that ill-fated deal.

More from the division…

  • The Rangers and slugger Joey Gallo haven’t touched base about a possible long-term deal since spring of 2018, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports in his latest mailbag piece. At that point, talks with agent Scott Boras didn’t progress. Now in the midst of a breakout season in which he’s playing a surprisingly competent center field (+3 Defensive Runs Saved, +0.6 Ultimate Zone Rating, +2 Outs Above Average), Gallo will of course have a substantially price tag if there’s any interest at all. Grant notes that the two sides should take some time this summer to gauge whether Gallo has any interest in such a deal, though there isn’t necessarily any urgency to get a deal done given that Gallo is controlled through 2022. The 25-year-old is hitting .273/.418/.624 with 15 homers through 208 plate appearances. While his average is being propped up to an extent by a .390 BABIP, Gallo is also walking at a career-high 19.7 percent clip and leading the Majors in hard-hit rate and exit velocity. If anything, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gallo actually hit for more power even if his average trends downward a ways.
  • Outfield prospect Scott Heineman’s rehab assignment has been halted after he experienced renewed discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. Heineman, 26, hit .295/.355/.429 with 11 homers, 20 doubles, two triples and 16 steals a season ago in Triple-A, perhaps putting himself on the radar for an eventual look at the MLB level. However, he struggled in just six games with Triple-A Nashville on a rehab assignment before being called back. There’s no immediate timeline on when he’ll return to the field, though that determination will presumably come in the near future once he’s further evaluated by the team’s medical staff.

Poll: Mike Minor’s Future In Texas

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The Rangers’ surprising flirtation with the .500 mark and the American League Wild Card race — they’re currently 27-26 on the season and a half game from the second Wild Card spot — make them one of the more surprising teams of the year. Texas tried to patch together an entire rotation behind holdover Mike Minor this past offseason, trading for Drew Smyly, adding Edinson Volquez to the big league roster (he’d been on a two-year minor league deal) and signing the duo of Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller. With the Astros owning the division for the past several seasons and the A’s coming off a 97-win campaign of their own, there wasn’t much hope that Texas would contend for much of anything.

Mike Minor | Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

That may ultimately prove to be the case in the end, but at the moment the team is in better standing than most would’ve expected at the (nearly) one-third mark of the season. At the very least, it’s created some interesting questions moving forward — with Minor’s own future in the organization perhaps chief among them. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark tweeted yesterday that Minor’s potential presence on the summer trade market is a frequent topic of discussion among rival front offices, while his colleague, Ken Rosenthal, touched on the subject as the lead-in to his latest notes column.

Minor, indeed, seems like he’d be a highly coveted asset should the Rangers shop him this July. Starting pitching is always in heavy demand and short supply on the summer trade market — particularly when you’re discussing options that are more than pure rentals. Minor is earning $9.5MM in 2019 (with about $6.28MM yet to be paid out), and he’s guaranteed that same salary in 2020 under the three-year, $28MM contract he signed with Texas prior to the 2018 season. Considering his performance, that looks eminently reasonable.

The Rangers were surely pleased with the 4.18 ERA that Minor authored over 157 innings out of the rotation in 2018, especially given that it was his first work as a starting pitcher since 2014 with the Braves. Texas signed him on the heels of a terrific run out of the Royals’ bullpen, and the organization’s decision to put him back in a starting rotation looked justified based on that alone.

In 2019, Minor has taken things a step further. He’s pitched 70 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with improvements in his strikeout rate, ground-ball rate and swinging-strike rate. He’s been less prone to home runs as well, averaging 0.89 per nine innings pitched despite the launching pad in which he pitches his home games. Fielding-independent pitching metrics forecast a bit of regression on his excellent ERA but still are generally bullish on him as a solid mid-rotation arm. As is the case every summer, solid mid-rotation arms will likely be hard to come by this year, and Minor’s contractual status only enhances his appeal.

Back on Opening Day, it would’ve been simpler to see those numbers and expect that Minor would be among the top assets on the trade market. The overall team performance at least makes that thought more debatable, though. The question the Rangers have to ask themselves is whether the current club can conquer its obvious shortcomings enough to remain in the race. And, even if that’s not in the cards, whether Minor could be part of a more legitimate contender a year from now. Their defense is porous based on Defensive Runs Saved (-25) and UZR/150 (-2.8). Their bullpen, headlined by a terrible start from closer Jose Leclerc, has pitched poorly. The rotation is top-heavy and lacks depth. The chances of a postseason berth, even with Minor on board, appear thin, and the team is lacking in upper-level pitching talent — the type that could be netted in a Minor deal.

On the flipside of the coin, the Rangers rank third in the Majors in runs scored. Texas also has just $85MM committed to the next year’s payroll and a tiny arbitration class where only Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara project for raises of note. For a team whose Opening Day payroll was $165MM as recently as 2017, there’ll be ample room to supplement the current roster. That will mean filling multiple holes, as the Rangers are currently enjoying production from one-year stopgaps like Logan Forsythe and Hunter Pence, but they’ll have plenty of budget room — particularly with Shin-Soo Choo finally off the books after 2020.

The Minor contract has turned into a success for the Rangers, but it now also leaves them with a bit of a decision on their hands. How should they proceed?

(Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

AL West Notes: Leclerc, Gallo, Trout, Upton

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The Rangers will deploy reliever Jose Leclerc as an opener in today’s game, the club announced. He’ll throw in front of Drew Smyly. The 25-year-old Leclerc will open for the second time this year. He entered the campaign as the indisputable closer after inking an extension over the winter, but lost that job when his prior control problems resurfaced. It seems the Rangers are looking to provide some stability for the live-armed hurler, who has dealt with minor shoulder and calf issues recently. Otherwise, he has been much more impressive of late, with a whopping 16:1 K/BB ratio in his last seven frames.

More from the AL West:

  • Though he departed last night’s game with wrist soreness, Rangers slugger Joey Gallo doesn’t seem to be at any risk of a trip to the injured list. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Gallo will get a day of rest today. That had already been planned, says Texas skipper Chris Woodward. Even as he has ramped up his offensive productivity by boosting his walk rate and continuing to launch prodigious long balls, Gallo has stretched his legs in the field. He has graded as a clear positive at all three outfield positions in recent seasons, though he had never before been utilized exclusively on the grass and had limited experience in center field. That modified deployment might itself warrant a few added days off to keep Gallo fresh over the course of the season.
  • The Angels seemingly dodged a bullet when superstar Mike Trout wore a foul ball off his foot. Though he’s dealing with some soreness, he says there’s no fracture, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group tweets. The L.A. organization needed a break — of the other kind — after watching Andrelton Simmons hit the shelf, followed in short order by Zack Cozart.
  • In other Halos health news, outfielder Justin Upton suggested a return from his turf toe injury is now within sight, as Fletcher reports. Though Upton cited a three-week target, that may be on the optimistic side. He’ll still need to don his cleats and run at full tilt, then complete a rehab assignment, without any recurring issues.
  • In case you missed the late-night news, Mariners infielder J.P. Crawford appears to be headed to the injured list  after suffering an ankle injury in last night’s contest.

AL West Notes: Gallo, Halos Hurlers, M’s, Herrmann, McHugh

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There’s little doubt that Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has drastically increased his career earnings outlook with a massive start to the current season. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the state of affairs on the extension front for baseball’s reigning three-true-outcomes king. The organization is obviously impressed, with manager Chris Woodward tabbing Gallo the club’s “best player” and GM Jon Daniels saying that he’s “mentally in a great spot.” Gallo says he’s not thinking about contracts, but agent Scott Boras surely is. As Grant notes, Boras’s assessment of Gallo’s season to date — “we are seeing the evolution of a superstar player” — offers a hint as to the kind of contract it might take to lock him up.

More from the American League West:

  • Angels righty JC Ramirez is set to launch a rehab assignment later this week, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Ramirez underwent Tommy John surgery last April. With his 30-day rehab clock set to be triggered, Ramirez is now back on the map as a near-term roster piece for the Halos. The club owes him $1,901,000 this year, with two more arb campaigns remaining. Though he has had some struggles in his time in the majors, Ramirez has given the Halos 200 1/3 innings of 4.04 ERA ball and showed he could stick in the rotation in 2017.
  • As ever, there are other updates to the Angels rotation mix. Nick Tropeano will beat Ramirez back to the big leagues; as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, Tropeano is coming up to pitch today’s ballgame. He was optioned after working back from a shoulder strain, and has been tagged in the run-happy PCL, but the innings are needed now. That’s due in no small part to the issues surrounding Matt Harvey, who just hit the injured list with a back strain after an awful stretch on the hill. Harvey didn’t have much of a timeline to offer reporters, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). With more to sort out than an injury, there’s no reason to think Harvey will be rushed back.
  • For the Mariners, there are a few incremental health updates of note, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (all links to Twitter). Rehabbing relievers Sam Tuivailala and Hunter Strickland are still a ways off. The former, who is working back from Achilles surgery, has come down with dead arm and may need to re-start his rehab rather than heading back to the majors. The latter is readying for his first mound work since leaving with a lat injury earlier this year. Starter Felix Hernandez, who’s on the IL with a shoulder strain, is also nearing mound work. The club is still taking it slow with corner infielder Ryon Healy, who has yet to resume baseball activity after recently hitting the shelf due to a balky lower back. That’s a less promising outlook than had been indicated when he was first sidelined, but the club no doubt hopes to avoid a lingering problem.
  • Athletics backstop Chris Herrmann is nearing a rehab assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Herrmann inked a one-year, $1MM deal over the offseason but hasn’t yet debuted with his new organization owing to knee surgery. It remains to be seen how the Oakland club will manage its roster once Herrmann is ready; Josh Phegley has hit well all year and Nick Hundley has turned it on after a dreadful start. It’s possible the A’s could ultimately carry all three, at least for a stretch, as Herrmann does have experience playing in other parts of the field.
  • It still doesn’t seem the Astros have cause for alarm regarding righty Collin McHugh, but he’s not going to be ready to return within the minimum ten-day window. Manager A.J. Hinch tells reporters, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), that McHugh is in need of “a little more down time” to let his elbow stop barking. “He’s played catch a couple days and has not seen any progress,” says Hinch. “He’s not any closer than he was a few days ago.” McHugh has been a bit homer-prone, which explains his rough 6.04 ERA on the year, but otherwise has impressive peripherals. That he has been moved out of the rotation and into a relief role is testament to the depth of the talent on hand in Houston.

Rangers Designate Jeanmar Gomez

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The Rangers have designated righty Jeanmar Gomez, per a team announcement. His active roster spot will go to lefty Kyle Bird.

Gomez, 31, was brought in on a minors deal that included a $1MM salary in the majors. He made the roster out of camp when the team decided to keep him rather than control-challenged flamethrower Connor Sadzeck.

That decision hasn’t worked out for the Rangers to this point. While Sadzeck has found a home in Seattle, Gomez has mostly been ineffective.

Through 15 1/3 innings this year, Gomez carries an ugly 8.22 ERA. That’s due in no small part to a low 55.2% strand rate, as well as a .389 BABIP that would be expected to trend down over a full season.

Gomez does carry a 55.2% groundball rate. ERA estimators think he has been better than the results. Still, with just 5.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and a minuscule 5.9% swinging-strike rate, he did not exactly have the peripherals of a successful reliever.

Injury Notes: Tatis, Flores, Duffy, Wendle, Volquez

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The Padres were hoping that star prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. would return from the injured list as early as Friday, though manager Andy Green told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Tatis won’t play during San Diego’s upcoming six-game road trip.  Tatis has been out of action since April 30 due to a hamstring strain, so he projects to miss a full month of games if he indeed won’t be back until May 31 (when the Padres host the Yankees) at the earliest.

Some updates on other injury situations from around the game…

  • Wilmer Flores was placed on the 10-day IL with a right foot contusion on Tuesday, though Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told media (including Arizona Sports 98.7 radio) that an MRI revealed Flores suffered a fracture.  Ildemaro Vargas was called up from Triple-A to take Flores’ spot on the roster, and he’ll provide utility depth in the middle infield as second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte now looks like he could receive more time at the keystone.  Flores signed a one-year deal worth $4.25MM in guaranteed money last winter and has hit .281/.326/.398 over 138 PA for the Snakes, with much of that production coming in the last few weeks following an ice-cold start at the plate.
  • While on a minor league rehab assignment, Rays infielder Matt Duffy re-aggravated the hamstring injury that has kept him on the IL all season. (Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report the news.)  Duffy will be re-evaluated tomorrow.  The infielder has been solid (.292/.354/.364 over 640 PA) since joining the Rays in August 2016, though he has appeared in just 153 games since that time, largely due to an Achilles injury that cost him the entire 2017 season.
  • In more positive news for the Rays, Joey Wendle told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that is no longer wearing a cast on his fractured right wrist.  Wendle said he is “free to move forward as I can tolerate” any discomfort while beginning baseball activities, though he said he will be cautious in his process to try and avoid any setbacks.  One can’t fault Wendle for wanting to be entirely ready in the wake of two lost months for the utilityman, as Wendle has played in only eight games this season due to his wrist fracture and an earlier hamstring injury.
  • Veteran righty Edinson Volquez has begun to play catch, Rangers manager Chris Woodward told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson and other reporters, as Volquez continues to make his way back from an elbow sprain.  Volquez made just two starts for Texas before being placed on the injured list, and he even hinted at retirement should his injury be another UCL tear (Volquez has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries).  Playing catch is a preliminary step, but nevertheless a good sign that Volquez may have avoided a more serious injury.

Rangers Place Willie Calhoun On IL, Recall Delino DeShields

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The Rangers announced today that outfielder Willie Calhoun is heading to the 10-day injured list with a strained left quadriceps. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow outfielder Delino DeShields.

It’s inopportune timing for the 24-year-old Calhoun, who just got a long-awaited promotion back to the majors. He has been in good form since coming up, slashing .435/.458/.739 with a pair of long balls in two dozen plate appearances.

There’s no reason to think the injury will be more than a speed bump for Calhoun, who was the headlining prospect of the 2017 Yu Darvish trade. But he hadn’t really thrived in his new organization since that swap, struggling especially in limited opportunities at the game’s highest level. Calhoun earned his way back up with a strong beginning to the season at Triple-A.

DeShields was demoted earlier this month after another rough showing at the plate. He just hasn’t hit enough since the start of the 2018 season to warrant a steady MLB roster spot, though his speed and defense remain appealing tools. DeShields wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off of the ball at Triple-A, with a .211/.318/.421 slash in 44 plate appearances since going down, though that was an improvement over his major league output.

Tigers Return Rule 5 Pick Reed Garrett To Rangers

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The Tigers announced that they’ve returned right-hander Reed Garrett, their pick in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, to the Rangers. Detroit designated Garrett for assignment last week, and he went unclaimed on outright waivers (as was first reported, on Twitter, by Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press).

Garrett, 26, piqued the Tigers’ interest with a combined 2.04 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings of work for the Rangers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season, but it’s been difficult for the club to trust him so far in his big league debut. He’s tallied just 15 1/3 innings, and during that time he’s issued 13 walks, hit a batter and recorded 10 strikeouts. Garrett has also served up 25 hits, three of which have been home runs.

Even for a rebuilding club like the Tigers, carrying a reliever who’s had such pronounced difficulty throwing strikes would be difficult over the course of a full season — particularly when there are other young arms in the organization to evaluate in that spot. The inability to option Garrett to the minors also limits the day-to-day roster flexibility for general manager Al Avila and his staff, which is particularly troublesome given the large number of injuries the Tigers have experienced in the rotation — all of which combine to put further pressure on the bullpen to soak up innings.

The Rangers, who themselves are in need of all the young pitching they can get, will surely be pleased to welcome Garrett and his 95.7 mph fastball back to the organization. He won’t take up a spot on the 40-man roster unless the club decides to select his contract and promote him to the Majors later this season.

Koji Uehara Retires

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Veteran reliever Koji Uehara has retired, Jim Allen of the Kyodo News reports. The 44-year-old Uehara last pitched in the majors in 2017, after which he returned to his native Japan to join the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. It proved to be a full-circle move by Uehara, who began and ended his career with Yomiuri.

Uehara was often dominant as a starter for Yomiuri from 1999-2006 before mostly working out of the Giants’ bullpen from 2007-08. The right-hander then headed to the majors in 2009 when he signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Orioles, who initially deployed him as a starter.

Uehara transitioned to the Orioles’ bullpen in 2010 and began a lengthy run as one of the majors’ most effective relievers. During a six-season, 324-inning span from 2010-15, Uehara’s pristine command helped him place first among relievers in two key categories – BB/9 (1.19) and K/BB ratio (9.56) – as well as seventh in ERA (2.08) and 19th in K/9 (11.42).

While Uehara’s major league excellence began with Baltimore, his tenure there was short-lived. The club traded him to the Rangers in July 2011 for reliever Tommy Hunter and a then-unproven slugger named Chris Davis, who later became the highest-paid Oriole ever and remains with the franchise today. Meanwhile, Texas clinched playoff berths in both of Uehara’s seasons with the team and won the American League the year it acquired him, though it wound up losing a classic seven-game World Series to the Cardinals.

Uehara returned to the World Series in 2013 with the Red Sox, who inked him to a one-year, $4.25MM contract prior to the season. It’s safe to say that deal ranks among the wisest the Red Sox have ever doled out, as it began a fruitful four-year union between the sides. Uehara was never greater than during his first year in Boston, where he logged 74 1/3 regular-season innings of 1.09 ERA ball and 12.23 K/9 against 1.09 BB/9. That brilliance carried into the playoffs, where Uehara earned ALCS MVP honors after combining for six shutout innings in a six-game victory over the Tigers. Uehara then totaled another 4 2/3 scoreless frames during the Red Sox’s World Series triumph over the Cardinals, whom he closed out in Game 6.

Although Uehara was never part of another title-winning team, he remained a quality reliever throughout his major league career – which concluded with a one-year stint with the Cubs. Across Baltimore, Texas, Boston and Chicago, the one-time All-Star produced 480 2/3 innings of 2.66 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9, 1.5 BB/9 and 95 saves, leading to upward of $50MM in earnings.

As great as Uehara was in the majors, he’s even more accomplished in his homeland. Uehara registered a 3.02 ERA and a 112-67 record over 312 appearances and 205 starts with Yomiuri, where he earned a slew of personal and team awards. MLBTR congratulates Uehara on two outstanding decades in pro baseball and wishes him the best moving forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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