Rangers Acquire Eliezer Alvarez
The Rangers have acquired infielder Eliezer Alvarez from the Phillies, per club announcements. Cash considerations will go to Philadelphia in return. Texas cleared a roster spot by transferring righty Ronald Herrera to the 60-day DL.
Alvarez, who was acquired in last September’s Juan Nicasio trade, lost his 40-man placement when the Phils decided to elevate utilityman Pedro Florimon. Now, the 23-year-old is moving on to his third team within the past year.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the St. Louis organization back in 2012, Alvarez put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2016 campaign. Playing at the Class A level, he posted a .404 on-base percentage, hit six home runs, and swiped 36 bags in 499 plate appearances.
Alvarez was unable to carry that level of output into the upper minors, though, as he scuffled a bit in 2017. Over his 209 trips to the plate at Double-A, he maintained a .247/.321/.382 slash with 56 strikeouts and 16 walks.
Clearly, though, the Rangers still see some cause to be intrigued in the youngster. Alvarez has lined up primarily as a second baseman thus far, though he has also seen a bit of action on the left side of the infield, so he could conceivably represent a future utility option.
Rangers Release Darwin Barney, Erik Goeddel
The Rangers have granted the releases of both infielder Darwin Barney and righty Erik Goeddel, the club announced today. Both will return to the open market in search of a better opportunity with another organization.
Barney, 32, was left without much of a path to the Rangers roster when the team decided to hold onto Jurickson Profar as a utility infielder. Though he has spent most of his career at second base, where he’s a decorated defender, Barney has also seen action on the left side of the infield in recent seasons. The eight-year MLB veteran is a career .246/.294/.341 hitter.
As for Goeddel, 29, he has shown an ability to get some swings and misses in the majors, reaching a 15.2% swinging-strike rate in 2017. But he has also run into increasing problems with the long ball in recent years. Last year, he allowed more than two homers per inning at both the Triple-A and MLB levels.
Rangers Claim Tommy Joseph
The Rangers have claimed first baseman Tommy Joseph off waivers from the Phillies, according to an announcement from Texas. In a corresponding move, the Rangers placed right-hander Clayton Blackburn on the 60-day disabled list with a strained pitching elbow.
Joseph, whom Philadelphia designated for assignment last week to make room for Jake Arrieta, lost his footing with the club after the emergence of Rhys Hoskins in 2017 and the signing of Carlos Santana during the offseason. There was simply no room on the Phillies’ roster for Joseph, a former catcher prospect who has become a first base/DH option in the majors.
The 26-year-old Joseph debuted with the Phillies in 2016 and was a solidly above-average hitter that year, with a .257/.308/.505 line (112 wRC+), 21 home runs and a .248 ISO in 347 plate appearances. Joseph went backward over a 533-PA sample size in 2017, though, as he slashed a subpar .240/.289/.432 (85 wRC+) with 22 HRs and a .192 ISO.
While Joseph was a regular in Philadelphia, that’s unlikely to be the case in Texas. With Joey Gallo occupying first and Shin-Soo Choo as the Rangers’ primary DH, there’s no obvious path to playing time for Joseph. He’ll either open the season on optional assignment or attempt to bounce back from last season as a bench bat.
Cole Ragans To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
- As expected, Rangers lefty pitching prospect Cole Ragans will undergo Tommy John surgery, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to report. And in further bad news for the Rangers’ prospect pool, righty Kyle Cody is dealing with elbow inflammation. Surgery may eventually be in the offing for him, Grant tweets. The 23-year-old Cody ranks as Texas’ No. 8 prospect at MLB.com.
Rangers Notes: Colon, Extensions
- Thanks to his struggles this spring, right-hander Bartolo Colon isn’t a lock to make the Rangers, TR Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Further clarity should come Sunday, when left-hander Martin Perez starts. Perez underwent surgery on a fractured right elbow last December, but if he’s healthy, he’ll take a season-opening rotation spot. That would leave the 44-year-old Colon vying for a long reliever/swing starter role, though the Rangers signed Jesse Chavez with the goal of using him in that capacity, Sullivan notes. For his part, Colon would be willing to fill that position if it’s available – “I will do anything I need to do to make the team,” he said. Notably, Colon has come out of the bullpen a mere nine times in 537 career appearances.
- The Rangers have considered extending first baseman Joey Gallo and outfielder Nomar Mazara this spring, but it doesn’t appear either those two or any of Texas’ other young players will receive a long-term deal at this point (via Sullivan). “We are always interested in talking to our best young players,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “But I don’t expect anything at this point.” As things stand, both players are still under control for several more years. Gallo won’t become eligible arbitration until after the 2019 season, while Mazara is in his last pre-arb year.
Cole Ragans Could Need Tommy John Surgery
- Rangers pitching prospect Cole Ragans has a UCL injury that may require Tommy John surgery, Robert Murray of FanRag hears. The 20-year-old left-hander, whom MLB.com ranks as the Rangers’ sixth-best prospect, is in his third year with the organization. A first-round pick in 2016, Ragans spent last season at the low-A level and pitched to a 3.61 ERA across 13 appearances (all starts) and 57 1/3 innings, also notching 13.66 K/9 against 5.49 BB/9.
Cole Ragans Headed For MRI On Elbow
- Rangers prospect Cole Ragans is slated for an elbow MRI, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to tweet. That’s certainly not the news the organization was hoping for at this stage of camp for a player who was taken 30th overall in the 2016 draft. The southpaw is still nowhere near the majors, having spent last season at the low A level, but he’s seen as a high-ceiling prospect and the Rangers are surely hoping to see him turn in a full season of development. Ragans racked up 87 strikeouts (but also 35 walks) in his 57 1/3 innings last year, ending the season with a 3.61 ERA. For now, it’s just a situation to monitor.
Rangers Release Jon Niese
The Rangers have released veteran southpaw Jon Niese, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet. He had joined the organization on a minor-league deal over the offseason.
Niese, 31, never really got going this spring owing to injuries, including a recent diagnosis of a sub scapularis muscle strain. While it’s not clear at this point what kind of treatment that will require, it evidently was a significant enough issue that the team decided to part ways.
The long-time MLB starter had been looking to get back on track after turning in a middling 2016 effort that ended with knee surgery and then missing all of the ensuing campaign. Before things turned south, Niese had been quite a productive starter. Between 2008 and 2015, he compiled over a thousand innings of 3.91 ERA ball for the Mets.
Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Pitching Health, Profar
Though some have wondered whether the Rangers could make a late play for one of the remaining free agents, GM Jon Daniels said today that isn’t in the cards, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas could surely stand to add another pitcher, with both Alex Cobb and Greg Holland seeming to make sense to varying degrees, but Daniels made clear he does not anticipate any significant new acquisitions.
More from Texas:
- Pitching health is always a big factor and will be of particular importance for a Rangers club that is in need of strong performances from all around the staff. Martin Perez is nearing his return to competitive pitching, which seems to bode well for his availability fairly early on in the upcoming campaign. But there are some other depth hits that are already apparent. Clayton Blackburn has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. It seems he’s going to try to rest up and resume throwing, suggesting it’s not an extensive tear, though he won’t even attempt to begin ramping back up for another four to six weeks and could yet become a candidate for surgery. Meanwhile, veteran Jon Niese is dealing with a sub scapularis muscle strain that seems to pose some uncertainties to his future and Ronald Herrera will miss at least half the season owing to labrum inflammation.
- There was one positive development on the pitching front, at least. Late-inning reliever Keone Kela was able to get back on the bump after a week-and-a-half layoff, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. It seems as if there are still some kinks left to be ironed out, but that Kela could get back on track to be ready for Opening Day. That said, manager Jeff Banister noted that the organization will need to see how his balky shoulder responds to the outing over the next several days.
- In one non-pitching note, Daniels also made clear that the plan is for Jurickson Profar to make the active roster and function as the team’s reserve infielder. It’s not difficult to imagine the former top prospect carving out a fairly significant role if he plays well, even if the presumptive regulars around the diamond are healthy and productive. After all, there’ll be a need to spread around some rest and the switch-hitting Profar could contribute in a number of different ways. It had seemed likely that Profar would be dealt at the outset of the offseason, but the out-of-options 25-year-old will get one more chance to stick in the majors in Texas.
Calhoun Optioned; Blackburn Could Be Out Until All-Star Break
The Rangers optioned Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Round Rock yesterday after the top prospect struggled to a .243/.282/.324 slash through 39 Cactus League plate appearances. The 23-year-old seemed to have at least an outside chance of cracking the big league roster after impressing with a .300/.355/.572 slash in Triple-A last season, but he’ll instead head to the minors and continue to hone his defense (as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests on Twitter). Calhoun got 20 days of big league service last September, so it seems unlikely that service time implications are a prevailing factor in the decision. But, that could be an added benefit for the Rangers. Calhoun would need 152 days of service time in 2018 to reach a full year, meaning he’d reach a full year if he’s up in the Majors on or before April 27 this season and is not optioned back down to the minors. With Calhoun in Round Rock, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson could be in line to open the season in a left-field platoon. Utilityman Jurickson Profar also has a bit of experience in left.
- Rangers righty Clayton Blackburn is awaiting word on an elbow MRI, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets, but it doesn’t sound as if there’s much room for optimism. Even in the best-case scenario, Blackburn will be expected to miss the entire first half of the season. The 25-year-old was expected to be an important part of the pitching depth in Texas, even if he had only an outside shot at opening the season in the majors. As Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News explains, there’s plenty still left to be resolved in the Rangers’ pitching staff even after a winter spent collecting arms.