Ryan Rua To Start In Left Field For Rangers
- Ryan Rua has beaten out Drew Robinson for the Rangers’ starting left field job, per TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Prospect Willie Calhoun vied for the role earlier in the spring, but the Rangers demoted him to the minors in mid-March. The 28-year-old Rua logged time with the Rangers in each of the previous four seasons, hitting an uninspiring .246/.305/.388 in 608 PAs. The majority of the right-handed Rua’s success has come versus left-handed pitchers, against whom he has batted .273/.326/.433.
Rangers Trade Mike Ohlman To Red Sox
- The Red Sox have acquired catcher Mike Ohlman from the Rangers for cash considerations, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. A 2009 draft pick of the Orioles (11th round), Ohlman made his major league debut with the Blue Jays last year, though he only collected 13 plate appearances, before signing a minors pact with the Rangers in the offseason. The 27-year-old has done most of his recent work at the Triple-A level, where he has batted .240/.334/.424 in 518 PAs. It seems unlikely he’ll be a factor in Boston, whose catcher contingent features just-extended starter Christian Vazquez and backups Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart.
Injury Notes: Sale, Pomeranz, Rodriguez, Gregerson, Lincecum, Hughes
Red Sox starter Chris Sale left today’s start after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of J.D. Davis. Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald was first to tweet that the club called it a hip contusion. Thankfully for fans in Boston, the X-rays on his hip came back negative (according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). For his part, Sale himself has said that he feels fine and that it “looked a lot worse than it actually is.” The lack of serious injury to their prized left-hander brings a sigh of relief to the Red Sox, as they need him now more than ever; Alex Cora announced today that both Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz will begin the season on the DL (h/t Sean McAdams of the Boston Sports Journal). With Steven Wright set to face a 15-game suspension, that leaves Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez at the back end of the club’s rotation. With David Price no sure bet to stay healthy, any questions surrounding Sale would have been wildly unsettling for a club hoping to compete with a tough Yankees ballclub for the AL East crown.
Other injury-related news from around the league…
- Luke Gregerson, who was projected to be the Cardinals’ closer on opening day, will instead begin the season on the DL. Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlines the news, which comes as a result of a hamstring strain. The usually-durable Gregerson had also dealt with an oblique injury earlier in the spring, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return to major-league action. According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the club has said that Dominic Leone or Tyler Lyons will receive closing opportunities. They do not appear close to any sort of deal with free agent closer Greg Holland at this time, Morosi adds.
- Speaking of right-handers who’ll begin the season on the DL, Tim Lincecum‘s blister issues will put him in that company as well. Lincecum joined the Rangers on a one-year deal with a $1MM base salary just weeks ago and didn’t pitch competitively in 2017; by his own words, he was unlikely to be ready for opening day anyway. Still, the blister issue will delay The Freak’s comeback bid, which will be an interesting story to watch as the season progresses considering how much he impressed scouts in a February showcase. Lincecum’s last MLB stint was with the Angels in 2016, when he posted a 9.16 ERA across 38 1/3 innings (nine starts).
- Twins right-hander Phil Hughes has a mild oblique strain, according to a tweet from Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. Berardino adds that a DL stint would give him more time to build up arm strength following surgery, though I’d add that Hughes might simply be utilized in a long relief role anyway. For the time being, the Twins will continue to evaluate Hughes.
Rangers Release Bartolo Colon
The Rangers have released Bartolo Colon from his minor-league contract, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports. Colon was in camp competing for a starter or long relief job, but evidently his performance this spring didn’t convince the club to add him to the MLB roster at this time. However, Sullivan reports in a separate tweet that the Rangers are interested in trying to keep Colon around for Triple-A depth, and that the two sides are still discussing a way to make that happen.
Cole Hamels, Matt Moore, Doug Fister and Mike Minor were already locks to make the club’s rotation, so Colon had to beat out a lot of competition (including Tim Lincecum and Jesse Chavez) in order to win the final job. However, with Martin Perez expected to return on April 5th, the club wouldn’t seem to have an immediate need for the 44-year-old Colon.
Colon has seen playing time in parts of 20 MLB campaigns, including a Cy Young-winning 2005. Though he sat out 2010 (which would have been his age-36 season) due to shoulder damage, a stem-cell treatment revived his career and helped him post at least 2.4 fWAR in six consecutive seasons. A 6.48 ERA showing last year caused him to settle for a minor-league deal, but as a fan favorite, “Big Sexy” would still seem to have a shot at cracking the Rangers’ rotation at some point this season if he indeed agrees to start the year at Triple-A Round Rock.
Rangers To Place Rule 5 Pick Carlos Tocci On Opening Day Roster
- Outfielder Carlos Tocci has been told he’ll be on the Rangers’ active roster to open the year, he tells reporters including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old, who was taken from the Phillies, has only reached base ten times in his 54 plate appearances this spring. But he has swiped seven bags and reputedly brings a plus glove in center, so the Texas organization has decided to look past that initial showing with the bat. Tocci struggled upon reaching Triple-A for a brief stretch at the end of the 2017 season, but did produce at a useful .307/.362/.398 rate in his 474 Double-A plate appearances.
Rangers Release Trevor Plouffe
The Rangers have released third baseman Trevor Plouffe, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan was among those to report via Twitter. He had been in camp with the team on a minor-league deal.
It’s still possible the 31-year-old will end up re-joining the organization to play at Triple-A, Sullivan notes. First, though, he’ll look into other opportunities with other teams.
Plouffe turned in a middling performance in camp, with just six base hits in his 34 trips to the plate. With the Rangers deciding to keep Jurickson Profar in the infield and otherwise carrying a full slate of healthy starters, there was no room for the veteran Plouffe.
During his seven seasons with the Twins, Plouffe was generally a solid regular at the hot corner. But he failed to make good on a one-year pact with the Athletics in 2017 and continued to struggle upon landing with the Rays in the middle of the season. He ended with a .198/.272/.318 batting line in 313 MLB plate appearances last year.
Kevin Jepsen Likely To Win Spot In Rangers Bullpen
- Veteran righty Kevin Jepsen has allowed only one run over 9 1/3 Spring Training innings, making him a strong bet to win a spot on the Rangers‘ Opening Day roster, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. Jepsen didn’t pitch in the majors in 2017 after a terrible spring camp with the Diamondbacks that led to a temporary absence from the game, as Jepsen took a couple of months to rehab a dead arm. Once he felt healthy, he caught on with the Nationals on a minor league deal, though the biggest step in his turn-around came after a tip from catcher Spencer Kieboom allowed Jepsen to regain some of his old velocity. Jepsen was a very effective reliever as recently as 2015, so Texas may have found a much-needed bullpen reinforcement for the cost of a minor league contract.
Rangers Looking For Pitching
- While none of these teams were specifically cited as being interested in McHugh, Heyman listed the Reds, Brewers, Mariners, and Rangers as teams that are looking for pitching. All four of the clubs have dealt with some injury setbacks in Spring Training, so further additions could be more akin to fill-in options rather than major acquisitions. Texas, however, does seem to be at least considering making a higher-priced add, given how the Rangers showed some recent interest in Cobb and Greg Holland.
[SOURCE LINK]
Tim Lincecum Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day
- Rangers reliever Tim Lincecum doesn’t expect to be ready for Opening Day, which he revealed Tuesday after throwing two innings of batting practice (via TR Sullivan of MLB.com). “Doesn’t look like it,” he said. “I still have some stuff to refine. I wasn’t extremely happy with the day. I was happy with the level of work. I’ve got a lot of refining to do.” Lincecum is only two weeks removed from signing with the Rangers, and he, of course, didn’t pitch competitively at all in 2017. Tuesday’s BP session was his second since joining the Rangers, and he’ll need at least one more before potentially pitching in a minor league game.
Rangers Release Curt Casali
The Rangers have released catcher Curt Casali, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter link). He’ll return to the open market in search of an opportunity elsewhere.
Several other veterans have also now been ruled out from the active roster. Righty Steve Delabar and outfielder Destin Hood have been so advised, as has third baseman Trevor Plouffe. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds on Twitter, Plouffe is considering his next steps and could request his own release.
The 29-year-old Casali came into camp in hopes of earning the back-up catching job behind starter Robinson Chirinos. But he has struggled with the bat in camp and evidently failed to beat out a variety of other possibilities.
As things stand, Juan Centeno is the most experienced option on the 40-man roster, with the recently outrighted Brett Nicholas and non-roster invitee Mike Ohlman also still on hand. Of course, it’s also still possible the Rangers could look outside the organization for a second backstop.