Rangers Rumors

West Notes: Mariners, Dodgers, Rangers, A’s

By Connor Byrne | February 24, 2018 at 8:19pm CDT

Mariners first baseman Dan Vogelbach was hit by a pitch in the right foot on Friday and is now in a walking boot, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. Vogelbach is currently awaiting results of an MRI he underwent Saturday. A serious injury to Vogelbach would be another notable preseason blow at first for the Mariners, whose starter, Ryon Healy, underwent hand surgery earlier this month. Consequently, Vogelbach and Rule 5 pick Mike Ford had been the only healthy first basemen on the Mariners’ 40-man roster. Healy, meanwhile, is close to having the stitches removed from his hand and could start defensive work within the next week or so, but it’s not known he’ll be able to begin swinging a bat, Johns writes.

More from the game’s West divisions…

Although Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson endured an unproductive, injury-shortened 2017, the team’s front office regards him as someone capable of being an everyday player, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. However, because Thompson’s out of options and battling several other outfielders for a spot, it’s possible he’ll find himself on another team soon, as Plunkett notes. The biggest roadblock for Thompson may be fellow right-handed hitter Matt Kemp, whom the Dodgers haven’t been able to trade. If Kemp sticks around, it could help push Thompson out. Despite that, the soon-to-be 27-year-old Thompson has a high opinion of Kemp. “Matt is a guy I’ve always looked up to since I moved to California,” Thompson said. “It’s a privilege to have him here and kind of pick his brain. At one point, he was the best player in the game. He still can really hit and do a lot of things.”
Rangers utiityman Jurickson Profar was the subject of trade rumors during the winter and is now out of options, which theoretically could put his future with the team in jeopardy. But there’s no doubt he’ll earn a roster spot this year with Texas, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The question is whether Profar will garner enough playing time to produce, Grant writes. The former top prospect has seen time in the outfield, but he’s presently vying for a role in the infield, where Joey Gallo, Rougned Odor, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre are dug in as starters.
Athletics infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez suffered a strained left hamstring Saturday, which could negatively affect his chances of earning a roster spot, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relays. Nunez said Saturday that the injury’s “not good,” and Slusser notes that hamstring strains typically require a two- to three-week recovery period. That would be especially problematic for the out-of-options Nunez. However, it could be a boon for Sheldon Neuse, who Slusser suggests will probably see most of the action at third base with both Nunez and starter Matt Chapman (right hand soreness) on the shelf.

AL West Notes: Weaver, Chapman, A’s Ballpark, Rangers

By Jeff Todd | February 23, 2018 at 8:26pm CDT

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register has an interesting piece on Jered Weaver, the long-time Angels hurler who’s now enjoying retired life after an ill-fated stop with the Padres in 2017. The interview is well worth a read in its entirety, particularly for fans of the Halos or Weaver in particular. There is one notable bit of historical hot stove information regarding Weaver’s 2011 extension, which was widely viewed at the time as a relative bargain for the team. The 35-year-old says he got just what he wanted out of the deal, which was to sign a contract that bought out his remaining good years and allowed the organization to afford other improvements. “I would still have two more years left on my contract if I waited for free agency and signed a seven-year deal,” Weaver tells Fletcher. “There’s no way I could even pick up a ball and I’d be making like $30 million. I’m totally OK with where I’m at right now. I’m glad it unfolded the way it did. It all worked perfectly.”

Here are a few more notes from the AL West:

The Athletics received promising news on third baseman Matt Chapman, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports. Chapman underwent an MRI after experiencing hand soreness, but fortunately no structural concerns were identified. He’ll continue to rest and receive a cortisone shot, but hopes are that the issue will soon be behind him. The 24-year-old only played half of the year at the MLB level in 2017 but turned in exciting results, with outstanding glovework and above-average hitting. His lofty strikeout totals remain a concern, but the A’s clearly believe Chapman can be a mainstay at the hot corner for years to come.
Even as the A’s continue to try to develop a new core group of young players, the organization remains engaged in a complicated stadium building effort. Matier & Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle covered the latest developments recently, with club president Dave Kaval saying the team still hopes to line up a plan by the end of the year. The Athletics believed they were on track last fall before encountering a major roadblock. As the Chronicle report explains in full, another obstacle arose to a potential site at Oakland’s Howard Terminal — an option that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has endorsed (via the Chronicle’s John Shea) — with Kaval saying the possibility of building a new facility at the location of the O.co Coliseum is “probably now the front-runner,” at least in terms of timing and feasibility, though the organization still prefers to move downtown.
Because the Rangers intend to utilize a six-man rotation, their bullpen plans are also changing, as Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram writes. Texas is going to ask for mutiple innings from multiple relievers, skipper Jeff Banister suggests. And some members of the rotation my pop out to the pen at times to fill in the gaps. It certainly seems to be shaping up to be an interesting experiment.

Rangers Sign Jesse Chavez

By Steve Adams | February 23, 2018 at 8:58am CDT

Feb. 23: The Rangers have announced the signing. Chavez does indeed go on the 40-man roster, taking the place of left-hander Joe Palumbo, who has been transferred to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move. Palumbo underwent Tommy John surgery last April and will not be ready for the start of the season.

Feb. 22: Chavez’s deal is a guaranteed, Major League contract at $1MM, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. He’ll get a 40-man roster spot, it seems, and Chavez’s base salary will elevate to $1.5MM once he is placed on the 25-man roster. Cotillo notes that there’s a very strong chance that Chavez breaks camp on the Rangers’ roster.

Feb. 21: The Rangers are in agreement on a contract with veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter links). The Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client seems to have signed a non-guaranteed deal, as Heyman notes that the pact calls for a $1MM base that’ll increase to $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster. Chavez’s contract has $500K worth of incentives based on relief appearances and $1MM based on starts, Heyman adds.

Now 34 years of age, Chavez will return to the organization that gave him his first professional opportunity. Texas selected Chavez in the 42nd round of the 2002 draft — a round that no longer even exists in modern drafts — and the righty spend parts of four seasons in their system before being traded to the Pirates in the 2006 Kip Wells swap.

Chavez went on to make his big league debut with the 2008 Pirates, and he’s spent time with six additional big league organizations since that time (primarily with Oakland). Chavez’s 2017 season was spent with the division-rival Angels, for whom he pitched to a disappointing 5.35 ERA in 138 innings. Chavez managed respectable marks of 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 41.1 percent ground-ball rate, but like so many other pitchers throughout MLB was plagued by the long ball; in those 138 frames, he surrendered 28 big flies — good for a career-worst 1.83 HR/9 mark.

Texas has been aggressively stockpiling veteran arms on which to rely over the course of the season, adding Doug Fister on a low-cost MLB deal while also picking up Chavez, Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese and Edinson Volquez on minor league contracts. (Volquez’s deal was a two-year minor league deal, as he’ll miss 2018 recovering from August Tommy John surgery.)

The Rangers currently project to have Cole Hamels, Fister, Matt Moore, Mike Minor and Matt Bush in their rotation. There’s plenty of talent in that bunch, to be sure, as each has had big league success at various points. However, it’s a fairly uncertain group at present.

Hamels is coming off a down season in which he logged significant time on the DL, and Moore, too, is in need of a rebound after a dreadful showing with the 2017 Giants. Minor, meanwhile, will be returning to a rotation role for the first time in four years, and Bush has never worked as a starter. Fister posted promising peripherals in a tough AL East last year, but he hasn’t had a full season with above-average run prevention numbers since 2014. Given the uncertainty among that group, it makes sense for GM Jon Daniels and his staff to create a fairly large supporting cast of experienced arms to serve as insurance.

Chavez has extensive experience both as a starter and reliever, so he’ll add to that depth and can support the group either as a rotation option in the upper minors or perhaps as a swingman at the big league level. He has a career 4.69 ERA in 742 2/3 Major League innings and enjoyed a solid run from 2013-16, during which time he sported a 3.94 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 427 1/3 frames.

Rangers Seen As Favorites To Land Julio Pablo Martinez

By Jeff Todd | February 22, 2018 at 6:58pm CDT

The Rangers are now considered the favorite in the pursuit of Cuban prospect Julio Pablo Martinez, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Martinez is not technically eligible to put pen to paper until March 6th, but it seems the Texas organization is working to line up a deal once he can formally sign.

Martinez, 21, will likely command a $2.7MM to $2.8MM bonus, according to the report. That’s a far sight shy of what similarly situated young players have earned in recent years, though that’s a reflection of newly restrictive signing rules (which place a hard cap on total bonus spending) rather than Martinez’s promise as a player.

The Rangers did not seem to have quite that much pool availability when last we checked, though it is always difficult to keep close tabs on international expenditures. Evidently, the Texas organization had more to work with than we realized, and also acquired an additional $350K just days ago, immediately sparking indications that the move was designed to facilitate the acquisition of Martinez.

Given that we’re still weeks away from Martinez even being able to sign, it seems reasonable to expect that we’ll have to wait to learn of his destination with any real certainty. But from the tenor of tonight’s report and the recent swap, all signs are that Texas is indeed set to land Martinez. That said, the Yankees and Marlins have also been closely tied to the talented youngster (by Ben Badler of Baseball America). He may be a year or two away from the majors, but that’s closer than most amateurs. And Martinez is said to possess an enticing blend of speed and power.

Rangers Acquire International Slot Money From Reds

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2018 at 10:23am CDT

The Rangers have officially picked up $350K in international slot money from the Reds, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer first reported on Twitter. Righty Miguel Medrano is heading to the Reds in return.

This move will further pad the Rangers’ international purse for the current signing period, which was already rather full in the wake of the team’s unsuccessful bid for Shohei Ohtani. It seems that Texas is lining up to chase top young Cuban outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link) suggest. Ben Badler of Baseball America has long cited the Rangers as a top pursuer of Martinez.

Martinez was officially cleared to sign recently. MLBTR’s Steve Adams broke down the Texas pool situation in that post. It’s worth noting, as Adams points out on Twitter, that the Reds have likely now parted with all of their remaining pool money. (The rules only permit $250K increments to be dealt unless it’s a trade that moves all the remaining funds from a team’s pool.) Texas could still acquire another $250K before being capped, BA’s Matt Eddy notes on Twitter. (The CBA stipulates that a team may acquire no more than 75 percent of the value of its initial pool in trades.)

All that’s known at this point, though, is that the 20-year-old Medrano will head to the Cincinnati organization. He has pitched exclusively with the organization’s Dominican Summer League outfit to this point in his professional career. Medrano certainly produced some interesting numbers there last year, working to a 2.59 ERA in 59 innings over ten starts and two relief appearances and racking up 9.3 K/9 against just 1.1 BB/9.

Julio Pablo Martinez Receives Clearance To Sign With MLB Organizations

By Steve Adams | February 20, 2018 at 4:54pm CDT

Cuban outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and will be free to sign with a Major League organization beginning on March 6, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 21-year-old Martinez is subject to international bonus pools due to his age and lack of professional experience in the Cuban National Series, so he’ll now have to decide whether to sign with a team during the current signing period (when many teams have already spent the bulk or entirety of their league-allotted budget) or after the July 2 kick off the 2018-19 period.

According to Badler, the Rangers, Yankees and Marlins are the current favorites for Martinez, who is one of the more touted prospects to come out of Cuba in recent seasons. If Martinez opts to sign with the Yankees or Marlins, per Badler, he’d likely be waiting until this coming summer to sign so that both teams could tap into their 2018-19 pools. The Yankees added a pair of Venezuelan prospects back in late December and also picked up former Braves farmhand Angel Rojas for $350K, thus accounting for some of what was left over from a failed run at Shohei Ohtani.

Texas had $3.535MM in pool allotments to spend on Ohtani before he opted to sign with the division-rival Angels. They’ve since reallocated some of their pool by signing shortstops Yenci Pena (for $675K) and Keithron Moss (for $800K) as well as outfielder D’Vaughn Knowles (for $500K). That’d still leave as much as $1.56MM to offer Martinez to begin his pro career in the current signing period (though it’s possible the pool is a bit lesser depending on whether Texas has made some smaller-scale signings that were not widely reported).

Certainly, other clubs could enter the mix for Martinez — especially if he is keen on waiting until July to sign a contract. Far more teams would be able to weigh a pursuit of the 21-year-old at that time, and given the appeal touted by Badler in his scouting reports on Martinez, several teams would figure to have interest. Badler lists Martinez at 5’10” and 180 pounds, praising a blend of power and speed, and he’s expanded on the talented young outfielder in a pair of prior columns — both of which those looking to learn more about Martinez will want to check out.

The left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing Martinez hit .333/.469/.498 with six homers, 11 doubles, two triples and 24 steals (in 29 attempts) during his most recent professional effort in Cuba. More impressively, he drew 52 walks that season against just 30 strikeouts in 264 plate appearances.

He also appeared in 57 games and tallied 255 plate appearances in the 2017 Can-Am Association — the same independent league that was previously home to big leaguers Chris Colabello, Andrew Albers, Craig Breslow, Steve Delabar and Tim Adleman, among others — where he hit .297/.345/.449 with seven homers and 20 steals. In today’s piece, Badler notes that Martinez is likely of an appropriate skill level to begin his path to the Majors in Class-A Advanced or in Double-A.

Rangers Will Not Sign Seung-Hwan Oh

By Jeff Todd | February 17, 2018 at 3:32pm CDT

3:32pm: A “physical issue” led the Rangers to abandon the Oh signing, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers became concerned after looking at the MRI results on Oh’s arm, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.

Feb. 17, 1:41pm: The Rangers have moved on from Oh, Wilson was among those to report (on Twitter).

Feb. 15: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters today that there’s nothing imminent with Oh (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that it’s not clear yet if there was some sort of hangup with the contract.

It’s worth noting that the Giants reportedly made an offer to Oh as well before his reported agreement with Texas, so if talks between Oh and the Rangers have broken down, it’s possible that San Francisco could jump back into the mix.

Feb. 6: The Rangers have struck a deal with free agent reliever Seung-hwan Oh, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If Oh passes his physical, he’ll stand to receive a $2.75MM guarantee, per Devan Fink of Beyond the Box Score (via Twitter). The deal also includes a $4.5MM option ($250K buyout) and $1MM in available incentives for the Rosenhaus Sports Representation client.

This makes for an interesting match given the open questions at the back of the Texas pen. Oh, a veteran Korean hurler, took over the closer’s role for the Cardinals during his debut MLB season of 2016. He opened the ensuing campaign with the same job after spinning 79 2/3 frames of 1.92 ERA ball, with 11.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, but was not able to repeat his dominance.

In 2017, Oh wound up posting a 4.10 ERA in 59 1/3 innings. The fall-off was not only evident in the results; Oh’s peripherals suffered across the board. In particular, his swinging strike rate dropped from an outstanding 18.0% to a still-strong 12.9%, taking his strikeout rate down to 8.2 K/9. His home run rate nearly tripled to 1.52 per nine; his groundball rate plummeted to 28.7%; and he surrendered a batting average on balls in play (.319) nearly fifty points north of his 2016 level.

That said, there are some reasons to believe that Oh may have suffered some poor fortune. That BABIP jump came even as he induced more soft contact (15.3% in 2016 vs. 22.4% in 2017) at the expense of hard contact (34.2% vs. 28.1%). Statcast figures reflect that evident discord, with Oh’s .298 xwOBA coming in well shy of the .338 wOBA he actually surrendered. Interestingly, while hitters obviously had less trouble making contact, Oh got batters to chase outside the zone just as often in each of his two MLB seasons and his Brooks Baseball charts mostly show consistent movement on his pitches.

It’s tough to say what to expect. Regardless, given Oh’s background, it’s certainly fair to wonder whether the 35-year-old is slated to close for the Rangers. The team still employs several pitchers who have featured prominently in the late-inning mix in recent seasons, including righties Matt Bush and Keone Kela as well as lefties Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman. But Oh has fairly earned his memorable nickname, Final Boss, by closing down 396 total contests over his 13 seasons of action in the KBO, NPB, and MLB. He’ll likely at least have a shot at earning the closer’s nod in camp.

For the Rangers, this is the latest of many additions to the team’s pitching staff. As MLBTR’s 2017-18 Free Agent Tracker shows, the organization has steadily picked up arms throughout the winter. In addition to a variety of free agents, the club dealt for lefty Matt Moore. The Rangers’ updated depth chart lists six hurlers acquired this winter who currently project to make the Opening Day roster, with others (especially Bartolo Colon) potentially challenging for jobs in camp.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Machado, Yanks, Tribe, Salazar, C. Santana, Rangers, Cashner

By Connor Byrne | February 17, 2018 at 2:56pm CDT

Orioles infielder Manny Machado “wants to be a Yankee and the feeling is mutual,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. The Yankees were among the teams that tried to trade for Machado over the winter, so it’s no surprise that they’re continuing to eye him a year before he hits free agency. Regarding offseason trade rumors, Machado said, “Thank God nothing went down and I was able to come back, and see my guys that I’ve been with for seven years.” Although the 25-year-old is content to be an Oriole for now, it seems highly unlikely he’ll remain with them past this year, considering the massive contract he’d land on the open market. And while the longtime third baseman plans to spend the rest of his career at shortstop, where New York has a quality starter in Didi Gregorius, the Yankees would find spots for both of them, Nightengale suggests.

West Notes: Lincecum, Giants, Rangers, Rox, Reynolds

By Connor Byrne | February 17, 2018 at 1:07pm CDT

Both the Giants and Rangers came away impressed after watching free agent right-hander Tim Lincecum’s showcase on Thursday, per reports from Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Unsurprisingly, Giants brass has a fondness for Lincecum stemming from his mostly incredible run with the franchise from 2007-15. On whether they’ll try to reunite with Lincecum, general manager Bobby Evans said: “It’s up to the competition of what clubs are bidding on him, and I can’t speak to that yet. It’s early. We obviously are all rooting for Timmy. Selfishly, anything he does, we would love for it to be in a Giants uniform, but sometimes opportunities on the business side dictate otherwise. But we’re always rooting for him.” The Rangers, meanwhile, are likely to continue pursuing the 33-year-old, according to Grant.

The Rockies have shown some interest in re-signing first baseman Mark Reynolds since last season ended, yet the 34-year-old remains on the open market. Reynolds told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he doesn’t know why he’s still unsigned, but he’s continuing to hope for a return to the Rockies after playing with them from 2016-17. “It would be my first choice. It was a great situation. I was good there the last two years,” said Reynolds, who combined to hit .274/.354/.471 during those seasons. “It’s something that I felt was a great fit. But I can’t control what they are thinking. I played there to prove that I’m very capable of playing at that level. … But the Rockies are a good fit, and they are a playoff team and that’s something I’m factoring in my decision as well.” The Reynolds-less Rockies do have in-house first base options on hand in prospect Ryan McMahon and utilityman Ian Desmond.
Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar hasn’t developed as hoped since his days as a top prospect, and now that he’s out of minor league options, he could be in another uniform soon. Profar hopes that’s not the case. “I know this team loves me a lot, and I love them,” the 24-year-old said (via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “I’m ready to help them win. I just want to play and help the team win. I know I can do it.” Profar was a non-factor last season in Texas, where he hit .172/.294/.207 over a small sample of 70 plate appearances. Left field was Profar’s main position with the Rangers in 2017, but they’re only planning to use him in the infield this spring, per Wilson. He’ll have difficulty carving out a regular role, though, with Joey Gallo (first base), Rougned Odor (second), Elvis Andrus (short) and Adrian Beltre (third) entrenched as starters.
Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra underwent surgery on the broken hamate bone in his right hand last Friday and could miss four to six weeks, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. While Parra is “going to be fine,” according to manager Bud Black, Saunders notes that his injury could open the door for David Dahl to steal a starting spot in right field. Dahl came on the scene in impressive fashion as a rookie in 2016, but a rib cage injury kept him from the majors last season and limited him to 82 minor league PAs. Parra, on the other hand, hit a Coors Field-inflated .309/.341/.452 in 425 trips to the plate.

Rangers Sign Edinson Volquez To Two-Year Minor League Contract

By Steve Adams | February 16, 2018 at 1:36pm CDT

The Rangers announced on Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Edinson Volquez to a minor league contract that contains invitations to Major League Spring Training for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Volquez underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career late in the 2017 season and won’t pitch in the 2018 campaign.

The two-year minor league deal, though, will give him a year to acclimate to the Rangers’ medical staff and rehab/training facilities with an eye toward returning to the Majors on their 2019 roster. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Volquez would earn a $2MM salary in 2019 if he makes the roster and has another $4.5MM worth of incentives in the contract’s second season. Volquez is represented by Wasserman.

The signing represents a homecoming for Volquez, who signed his first professional contract with the Rangers as an 18-year-old amateur back in 2001. Now 34 years of age, Volquez will still earn a $13MM salary this season as part of the two-year, $22MM pact he signed with the Marlins last offseason. Miami is still on the hook for the full $13MM after releasing him last year.

After a rough second season in a two-year deal with the Royals (2015-16), Volquez looked to be on his way to rebounding with a solid 2017 effort this past season. His masterful 10-strikeout no-hitter against a potent D-backs lineup was one of the highlights of the Marlins’ season and of his 13-year big league career. Overall, Volquez worked to a 4.19 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 0.78 HR/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate in 92 1/3 innings.

Unfortunately for both Volquez and the Marlins, he incurred a knee injury in July that sidelined him into August, and, upon working his way back from that malady, suffered a torn UCL that necessitated the TJ procedure.

It’ll be a long road back to the Majors for Volquez, though by the time Spring Training 2019 rolls around, he’ll be nearly 18 months removed from surgery, so he should be plenty strong at that point. There’s little downside in the deal for Texas, as the only thing they’re guaranteeing him is resources for his rehabilitation as he works back toward a potential return to the big leagues.

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