Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers Rumors

West Notes: Padres, Astros, Dodgers, Rangers

By and | at

This year’s Padres are turning “tanking” into an art form, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Padres feature three players selected in the Rule 5 Draft, plus an incredibly inexperienced outfield and three starting pitchers who have recently been released. GM A.J. Preller’s strategy this season, Sherman writes, amounts to a “more extreme version of, say, what the Astros and Cubs did” — essentially, being indifferent to winning in the short term in order to get choice draft picks. Notably, Sherman detects a personal tone to criticism of the Padres’ strategy from employees of other organizations, in part because of Preller’s failure to disclose some relevant medical information in past trades, including the deal last season that sent Drew Pomeranz to Boston.

  • The Astros have liked what they’ve seen so far of Charlie Morton, who signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the team last winter, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “I do believe that Charlie Morton isn’t a back-of-the-rotation guy,” said GM Jeff Luhnow during Spring Training. “He hit 97 three times in the first inning yesterday, with a lot of sink on his pitches and good secondary stuff. A healthy Charlie Morton could work himself into the conversation with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers at the top of our rotation.” Morton allowed just two runs and two walks while striking out six in his first start of the year against the Mariners this week, although, uncharacteristically, he allowed 11 fly balls. Morton is excited about his new team’s prospects, Kepner writes. “The whole team is strong,” he says. “I just don’t see how we’re not set up to win.”
  • With Rich Hill on the disabled list, the Dodgers will reinsert left-hander Alex Wood into their rotation for Monday’s game against the Cubs, manager Dave Roberts announced Saturday (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Wood wasn’t able to crack the Dodgers’ season-opening rotation, but he has enjoyed plenty of success as a starter. The 26-year-old has racked up 458 1/3 frames from the rotation and recorded a 3.40 ERA, 8.01 K/9 and 2.88 BB/9.
  • Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is eligible to come off the 10-day DL on Sunday, but the team is unsure if it will activate him, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “The bottom line is, we are in the information-gathering stage, and how he feels,” manager Jeff Banister said of Beltre, who’s sidelined with a calf injury. “We’ll go from there.” Beltre took live batting practice Saturday, though he’s not yet able to run at full speed. Considering they’re off Monday, the Rangers could opt against activating the 38-year-old in favor of a couple more days of rest.

AL West Notes: Cintron, McHugh, Ross, Faulkner

By | at

Former big leaguer Alex Cintron has joined the Astros as an interpreter, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. The nine-year veteran, who’s now 38, will primarily function as the club’s Spanish-language liaison while traveling with the team, though GM Jeff Luhnow says he’ll also provide some value “on the baseball operations side of things.” MLB and the player’s association installed a new rule last year requiring every club to carry such personnel, though it seems Houston has added a bit of a wrinkle by hiring a former big leaguer whose duties will extend further.

Here’s more from the AL West’s Texas contingent:

  • Astros righty Collin McHugh is slated for a checkup after experiencing elbow and biceps tightness in his Triple-A rehab outing yesterday, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The medical evaluation will obviously dictate how things progress, but as Kaplan writes, Houston must now consider the possibility that McHugh won’t be back for a few more weeks. He had been expected to return to the majors in the next few days, but was only able to work one inning before he was pulled.
  • Things seemingly went better for Rangers righty Tyson Ross, who worked three innings in extended spring action, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Next up for Ross is a four-inning outing on April 12th. Obviously, it seems he’ll keep building up while working on a five-day schedule; given the progress thus far, perhaps he’ll be prepared to join the MLB roster in relatively short order. If and when he does, Ross will be throwing his first big league pitches since Opening Day of 2016.
  • The Rangers’ decision to trade lefty Andrew Faulkner yesterday came about after he fell well shy of expectations this spring, as Grant explains. Faulkner, 24, seemed set to compete for a pen job in camp, but never ironed out his mechanics. As Grant details, he lost his feel for the zone so much that he was not even appearing in minor-league games after departing major league camp. The Orioles evidently see some hope still, so for now he’ll take a 40-man spot in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Grant explains, Texas appears likely to utilize the roster spot that was cleared to add another reserve infielder or reliever.

Orioles Acquire Andrew Faulkner, Release Dariel Alvarez

By | at

The Orioles announced that they’ve acquired left-hander Andrew Faulkner from the Rangers and released outfielder/pitcher Dariel Alvarez to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Baltimore will send cash or a player to be named later to the Rangers to complete the swap. The Orioles have optioned Faulkner to Triple-A Norfolk.

Faulkner, 24, has seen time in the Majors in each of the past two seasons, totaling 16 1/3 innings with the Rangers and pitching to a 4.41 ERA with an 11-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate. He spent the bulk of the season in the bullpen with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, tossing 45 1/3 innings with a 3.97 ERA 7.7 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. MLB.com rated Faulkner as the No. 30 prospect in the Rangers’ system at the time of the swap, noting that he lost a couple of miles off his fastball in 2016.

When at his best, however, Faulkner is tough on left-handed opponents, as evidenced by the .175/.291/.238 line posted by opposing lefties (including both the Majors and minors) in 2015. The former 14th-rounder (2011) does have some experience in the rotation — nearly half of his 165 minor league appearances have been starts — but he’s worked primarily out of the bullpen across the past couple of seasons.

As for the 28-year-old Alvarez, it was reported earlier today that the outfielder-turned-pitcher is likely to require Tommy John surgery after suffering an elbow injury. The Cuban defector has been in the Orioles organization since the 2013 season but received just 35 plate appearances in the Majors. Alvarez has spent significant time at the Triple-A level in each of the past three seasons, and while he’s hit fairly well, he hasn’t exactly dominated the level; in 304 games with Norfolk, Alvarez has batted .285/.317/.409. Speculatively speaking, the O’s could re-sign Alvarez to a minor league deal, allowing him to rehab with the team and then to continue making his transition to the mound once he returns to health.

Pitching Notes: Kela, Gomez, Felix, Arroyo

By | at

As was reported recently, the Rangers have no interest in trading recently demoted power righty Keone Kela, who was optioned owing to his negative impact in the clubhouse. Both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram provide further detail on what went wrong, and you’ll want to check out those pieces for the full rundown. All said, it seems there’s plenty of space for Kela to work back into good standing with the organization, though it’s anyone’s guess how long he’ll be shelved in the minors and what it will take for him to return.

Here are a few more pitching notes from around the game:

  • The Phillies took home an Opening Day win after Jeanmar Gomez shut the door in the ninth, but the closer role seems far from settled. As Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports, manager Pete Mackanin acknowledged after the game that he’s “concerned” with Gomez — who gave up a two-run home run and, in the skipper’s assessment, is struggling to work down in the zone. It seems the club will stick with him for now, but Mackanin suggested continue to evaluate and won’t hesitate to pull Gomez if he’s struggling.
  • Long-time staff ace Felix Hernandez left his start yesterday for the Mariners with groin tightness, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). But the expectation is that he won’t miss any time; the veteran righty says he’ll be ready for his next scheduled outing “for sure.” He did miss time last season with a calf strain that proved worse than initially suggested, though of course there’s no reason to believe this new injury will follow a similar course.
  • Veteran hurler Bronson Arroyo is on track to return to the majors, as Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. After a sim game on Sunday resulted in “very, very positive reports,” in the words of manager Bryan Price, it seems Arroyo is slated to make his first MLB outing of the year on Saturday. Arroyo has battled injury ever since going he required Tommy John surgery in the middle of 2014, but has remarkably positioned himself to make it back to the hill at 40 years of age.

Rangers Agree To New Deal With Dillon Gee

By | at

APRIL 3: Gee will earn at a $2MM annual rate while playing in the majors and can achieve up to $1MM in incentives, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Also of note: Gee has agreed to a 45-day advance consent provision.

MARCH 31: The Rangers have agreed to a new contract with right-hander Dillon Gee, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (all Twitter links). Gee triggered the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with Texas earlier this week, giving the team 48 hours to add him to the 40-man roster or grant him his release. Gee is a client of SSG Baseball.

Instead, the two sides have agreed to a new Major League pact with the understanding that Gee will open the year as a starter at Triple-A Round Rock and have a chance to quickly emerge as the Rangers’ fifth starter, according to Sullivan. Gee will be on the 40-man roster — Sullivan notes that Chi Chi Gonzalez will likely head to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move — and could potentially be called upon when Texas first needs a fifth starter, on April 15. It’s not known if right-hander Andrew Cashner, who is currently dealing with biceps tendinitis, will be ready to take the hill at that time, but Gee represents a solid alternative in the event that Cashner isn’t able to pitch by that point.

The 30-year-old Gee enjoyed a very nice Spring Training with Texas, putting him in position to force a decision out of the Rangers. In 19 2/3 innings during Major League camp, Gee logged a 3.20 ERA with a stellar 18-to-3 K/BB ratio. While he’s been tagged for 25 hits, only one of those has left the yard for a home run. His final outing, which came against his former Royals teammates, included six shutout innings with just two hits allowed and nine strikeouts.

Gee underwent surgery in October to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, though his high-quality Spring Training results suggest that he’s perfectly healthy now, of course. It’s not known to what extent that medical issue hampered Gee in 2015-16 (if at all), but the right-hander has struggled in the past two seasons with the Mets and Royals (4.97 ERA in 164 2/3 innings). Prior to that he’d logged a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 639 1/3 innings for the Mets.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Rays, Orioles, Rangers, Giants

By | at

The Rockies and the Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District, which owns Coors Field, agreed to a 30-year, $200MM lease Wednesday to continue housing the team there, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The two sides had spent four years negotiating the contract, which Major League Baseball approved Wednesday. The Rockies’ lease would have expired Thursday without an agreement, and that could have put their future in question. Instead, they’re now in line to remain at Coors Field through 2047. And, to the team’s credit, none of the pending $200MM in improvements to the stadium will come via taxpayer money. Coors opened in 1995 at a cost of $300MM, more than half of which ($162MM) was public money.

More from the majors:

  • If the Rays don’t pare down their 40-man roster by trading catcher Curt Casali, they’re likely to designate fellow backstop Luke Maile or right-hander Ryan Garton for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin first noted last week, after the Rays had signed Derek Norris, that Casali or Maile might not be long for the organization. The team optioned the two catchers and Garton to the minors Wednesday.
  • The Orioles are aiming for a May 10 return for right-hander Chris Tillman, manager Buck Showalter informed David Hall of MLB.com. Tillman has been dealing with a shoulder issue since early in the offseason, though he does feel good about the progress he has made, per Hall. When he comes back, not only will Tillman try to help pitch the Orioles to another playoff berth, but the free agent-to-be will attempt to make a case for a rich contract.
  • Rangers righty Andrew Cashner seemed likely to return from biceps tendinitis by April 15, the first time the team will need a fifth starter, but that’s n0w in doubt. Pitching coach Doug Brocail told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that he’s “not real optimistic” Cashner will debut in two weeks, and noted: “I want to make sure that when we get him back, we get him back for the full year. I don’t want any setbacks.” In the meantime, Texas could turn to Dillon Gee and/or Nick Martinez to fill in for Cashner.
  • The Giants have chosen righty Neil Ramirez over southpaw Steven Okert for their final bullpen spot, Alex Espinoza of MLB.com was among those to report. The out-of-options Ramirez, who inked a minor league pact with the Giants over the winter, planned to opt out of the deal had he not made their roster, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. San Francisco “didn’t want to lose Ramirez,” said manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen will open the year with one lefty (Ty Blach).

Roster Notes: Brewers, Mets, Royals, Red Sox, Rangers

By | at

The Brewers are down to 24 players after demoting relievers Tyler Cravy and Rob Scahill on Saturday, but general manager David Stearns declined to address whether he’ll add a player from outside the organization, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both Cravy and Scahill are unhappy that they didn’t earn the 25th spot, per Haudricourt, with Cravy claiming he could seek “a 9 to 5 job where I get treated like a human, at this point.” Continued the 27-year-old: “It would just be nice to have the honesty straight up front instead of, ‘Hey, you’re competing for a job,’ then literally out-compete everyone and be told, ‘Sorry, we have other plans.’ “It says a lot about the integrity, or lack thereof, of the guys running the show, but what are you going to do?”

While Cravy isn’t sure if he’s willing “to play for guys who treat you like this,” Stearns seemed to chalk the right-hander’s comments up to frustration. “Tyler, in particular, went through this last year,” said Stearns. “He made the trip with us (to play Class AA) Biloxi and was sent out at Biloxi. Dealing with this two years in a row is not a pleasant experience. We’re sensitive to that.”

More of the latest roster news:

  • Mets righty Seth Lugo will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list with a tired arm, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Lugo doesn’t have any structural damage, relays DiComo, who notes that Rafael Montero will claim a spot in the bullpen for as long as he’s out. Lugo spent most of the spring vying for one of the two vacancies in the Mets’ rotation, but the team chose Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler over him Thursday.
  • The Royals have optioned infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield to Triple-A, meaning Christian Colon has won a bench job in Kansas City. Merrifield was easily the better of the two last season, having hit .283/.323/.392 to Colon’s .231/.294/.293, but the latter is out of options and could have ended up with another organization had KC demoted him.
  • With Josh Rutledge on the shelf because of a hamstring injury, the Red Sox have tabbed first baseman/outfielder Steve Selsky for a reserve job. As a right-handed hitter, Selsky is a better fit for the role than the lefty-swinging Marco Hernandez, whom the Red Sox optioned to Triple-A. Selsky, a January waiver claim from the Reds, is likely to platoon at first with the left-handed Mitch Moreland, as Hanley Ramirez (shoulder) still isn’t healthy enough to play the field.
  • Righty Mike Hauschild has made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. The Rangers took Hauschild from the AL West rival Astros in December’s Rule 5 draft. The 27-year-old is now in line to make his major league debut, having spent the previous five years in the minors after going to Houston in Round 33 of the 2012 amateur draft. He worked exclusively as a starter at Triple-A over the past two seasons and posted a 3.33 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 227 1/3 innings.

West Roster Notes: Beltre, Montas, Federowicz

By | at

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre will begin the season on the DL, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Beltre turned up with a tight calf on Monday and hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game since. An MRI that day didn’t turn up anything serious, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. It’s possible, then, that Beltre won’t be out long. Until he returns, slugger Joey Gallo will be first in line for playing time at third base, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Jurickson Profar is another potential option. Here are more quick notes on West rosters.

  • The Athletics have decided to set their roster with eight relievers, with Frankie Montas and Daniel Coulombe both making the cut, as various reporters have tweeted, including Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has sent outfielder Jaff Decker to the minors, leaving the A’s with a three-man bench and Mark Canha as their only backup outfielder. As for Montas, the A’s reportedly still see him as a starter in the long term, but after he missed most of last season due to a rib injury, having him begin the season in the bullpen allows the A’s to limit his innings. The A’s acquired Montas at last year’s August 1 trade deadline along with two more interesting young hurlers (Jharel Cotton and Grant Holmes) for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick.
  • Catcher Tim Federowicz doesn’t plan to opt out of his minor-league deal with the Giants unless he receives a big-league contract, Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Federowicz has received interest from other clubs, but no big-league offers. The 29-year-old Federowicz played briefly over parts of four seasons with the Dodgers, then missed much of the 2015 season to a knee injury after heading to San Diego in the Matt Kemp/Yasmani Grandal trade. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs last year.

Rangers Demoted Keone Kela As Disciplinary Measure, Not Looking To Trade Him

By | at

The Rangers’ surprise demotion of hard-throwing 23-year-old righty Keone Kela on Friday was due to the team’s unhappiness with how Kela behaved during a “B” game, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. The Rangers have evidently received trade calls about Kela, but they plan to keep him and are not planning to trade him at a discount.

A “B” game is a side Spring Training game in which statistics don’t count toward Cactus (or Grapefruit) League totals. Rosenthal doesn’t report the exact nature of Kela’s behavior, but notes that it upset many veteran Rangers players. He describes the demotion as “a trip to the penalty box,” so although it’s unclear when Kela will return to the Rangers, it seems reasonable to guess he’ll be back at some point.

Kela had a terrific rookie season in the Rangers’ bullpen in 2015, posting a 2.39 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 60 1/3 innings while throwing his fastball in the mid- to high 90s. He struggled despite an 11.9 K/9 in 34 innings in 2016, however, posting a 6.09 ERA and 4.5 BB/9 and missing a large chunk of the season after having surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow.

Notable Roster Decisions: Friday

By | at

As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…

  • Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
  • The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
  • With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies’ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.

Click to read earlier updates …

Read more

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top