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Paolo Espino

Rangers Sign Tolleson, Espino, Eibner To Minor League Deals

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Former Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson is returning to the organization on a minor league contract, per a team announcement. Texas also announced minor league deals for right-hander Paolo Espino, outfielder Brett Eibner and right-hander Zeke Spruill. (Spruill’s deal had been previously reported.) Tolleson and Espino received invitations to Major League Spring Training, though Tolleson will still be working his way back from Tommy John surgery at that point.

Tolleson, 30 in January, was cut loose by the Rangers after a dreadful 2016 campaign. Tolleson shined with the Rangers from 2014-15, tossing 144 innings and logging 35 saves with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 against a 41.4 percent ground-ball rate. Tolleson limped to a 7.68 ERA and served up eight homers in just 36 1/3 innings with the Rangers in ’16, and he never appeared in a game for the Rays after signing a one-year deal last offseason before TJ surgery in May. Tolleson was used heavily in 2014-15, including five straight games to close out that 2015 regular season.

Espino made six appearances for the Rangers last year after being picked up from the Brewers. Though he’ll turn 31 next month, last year marked Espino’s first taste of the big leagues — a debut that included 24 innings with a 6.00 ERA and a 20-to-10 K/BB ratio. Espino brings a 3.76 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 505 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level and will bring some depth to a rotation mix that has plenty of injury question marks.

Last season, the Dodgers attempted to convert Eibner into a pitcher, but he ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery on Aug. 1. The Rangers announced Eibner as an outfielder, seemingly indicating that they won’t continue experimenting with him on the mound. Once healthy, Eibner can handle all three outfield spots and will come to the Rangers organization with a .274/.348/.464 career batting line in parts of four Triple-A seasons and a .191/.263/.355 slash in 244 MLB plate appearances.

Rangers Outright Gosselin, Espino, Middlebrooks, Hoying

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The Rangers announced on Tuesday that infielders Phil Gosselin and Will Middlebrooks, right-hander Paolo Espino and outfielder Jared Hoying have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Round Rock. Both Gosselin and Middlebrooks have rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, per the team. The Rangers’ 40-man roster is now at 36 players, though two of those vacancies are presumably ticketed for right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez and infielder Hanser Alberto, each of whom is on the 60-day disabled list.

Texas claimed Gosselin, 29, off waivers from the Pirates back in August, though he only appeared in 12 games and logged eight plate appearances. Gosselin struggled between both organizations this season, but he did hit .288/.340/.411 in 358 plate appearances at the MLB level from 2015-16.

Middlebrooks, meanwhile, took 39 plate appearances over the course of 22 games and hit just .211/.321/.368. He did post a .258/.327/.529 batting line and club 23 homers over the life of 342 PAs with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate. It’s been quite some time since the now-29-year-old Middlebrooks looked like a possible rising star, but he’s displayed quality power numbers in the minors in each of the past two seasons and should land another minors pact this winter.

The 30-year-old Espino made his MLB debut this season with the Brewers but logged a 6.00 ERA and a 20-to-10 K/BB ratio in 24 innings. A veteran of 11 minor league seasons, Espino has a 3.76 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 across 505 1/3 career innings in Triple-A.

As for Hoying, the 28-year-old has been up and down with Texas over the past two years, hitting a combined .220/.262/.288 in 126 plate appearances. He’s a career .254/.308/.465 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons.

Rangers Designate Marinez, Rodriguez, Alvarez; Activate Jake Diekman

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The Rangers have announced a series of moves today as the month of September begins. Texas designated righty Jhan Marinez and lefty Joely Rodriguez to open two 40-man roster spots. Texas has also designated lefty Dario Alvarez, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets.

Those three hurlers are a few of the many that have cycled through the Texas pen this year, as the organization has scrambled to make up for injured and/or ineffective pitching. Marinez has produced mostly solid results in time with three organizations this year, though clearly teams view him as a fill-in asset. Rodriguez has allowed exactly 19 earned runs in 27 frames at both the MLB and Triple-A levels this year. And Alvarez actually managed to carry a 2.76 ERA over 16 1/3 MLB innings this year, but he was averaging 7.7 B/9 to go with 9.4 K/9.

Leading the team’s September call-up list is lefty Jake Diekman, whose absence to date was one of the drivers of the bullpen churn. Diekman had missed the entire season after undergoing surgery just before camp to address inflammatory bowel disease. (You can and should read more about his journey here.) The Rangers can control the southpaw for one more season via arbitration; in all likelihood, he won’t command much of a raise on his current $2.55MM salary since he doesn’t have much time to accrue innings.

Recently acquired righty Paolo Espino, infielder Will Middlebrooks, and catcher A.J. Jimenez have also been tabbed to join the MLB club.

Rangers Acquire Paolo Espino, Designate Tanner Scheppers

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The Rangers have acquired right-hander Paolo Espino from the Brewers for cash considerations and designated fellow righty Tanner Scheppers for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Espino will report to Triple-A with his new organization.

The Brewers designated Espino on Wednesday after the 30-year-old had a difficult 17 2/3-inning major league debut with the club this season. Across six appearances and two starts, Espino logged a 6.11 ERA with 6.62 K/9 against 4.08 BB/9. He has been better this year at Triple-A (4.52 ERA, 8.68 K/9, 1.67 BB/9 in 75 2/3 frames) and has generally fared well at that level since ascending to it in 2010. He’s now in his fourth organization since the Indians chose him in the 10th round of the 2006 draft.

Scheppers, also 30, is certainly the more proven major leaguer of the two, but his career has gone off the rails thanks in part to a spate of injuries over the past several seasons. At his best, the 2009 first-round pick was a key member of the Rangers’ bullpen in 2013, after which Texas attempted to turn him into a starter. The hard-throwing Scheppers took the ball for the Rangers to open the 2014 season, but he only totaled four starts in eight appearances that year and posted a 9.00 ERA in 23 innings. He hasn’t worked extensively in the majors since recording a 5.63 ERA and a 5.4 BB/9 in 38 1/3 relief innings in 2015. Scheppers’ struggles have continued this season with Triple-A Round Rock, where he has registered a 5.05 ERA despite passable strikeout and walk numbers (6.8 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9) through 46 1/3 frames.

Brewers Designate Paolo Espino

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The Brewers have designated righty Paolo Espino for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed to make way for fellow right-hander Aaron Brooks, who was claimed off waivers.

Espino debuted in the majors this year for Milwaukee at thirty years of age. He made two starts and four relief appearances, but was tagged for a dozen earned runs in his 17 2/3 frames. Espino surrendered five long balls and eight walks while picking up 13 strikeouts.

It took quite some time for Espino to receive a call-up despite carrying a 3.76 ERA in over five hundred Triple-A innings. While he has a broad arsenal of pitches and has long demonstrated excellent control in the upper minors, Espino works at under 90 mph with his fastball and doesn’t miss many bats.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Brewers announced before this afternoon’s game that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Paolo Espino from Triple-A Colorado Springs and optioned left Brent Suter to Triple-A. The 30-year-old Espino is making his Major League debut today against the Cubs after spending parts of 11 seasons in the minors. This year in a tough Colorado Springs environment, he’s pitched to a 2.54 ERA with a 40-to-5 K/BB ratio through 39 innings. Espino has a career 3.54 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in 465 2/3 Triple-A innings.

Earlier Moves

  • The Marlins have announced that infielder Steve Lombardozzi cleared waivers and was sent outright to their Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans. The veteran could have rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency but accepted and will continue on in New Orleans in hopes of earning another big league look. The  28-year-old Lombardozzi appeared in just two games with the Marlins and went hitless in eight at-bats. He’s a career .260/.292/.333 hitter in parts of six Major League seasons (this year included).
  • MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports that the Brewers are wrapping up a deal with 17-year-old international free agent Ernesto Martinez Jr. (Twitter links). A first baseman/outfielder out of Cuba, Martinez will receive a fairly sizable $925K bonus when the deal is complete. Sanchez notes that Martinez Jr. is a left-handed hitter and thrower that is also capable of pitching. As MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy points out (also via Twitter), that bonus will be almost entirely covered by the $885K slot that the Brewers received when trading right-hander Damien Magnifico to the Orioles.

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