Alex Speas

The Rangers announced Wednesday morning that they’ve designated left-hander Taylor Hearn for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Alex Speas, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Round Rock. Texas optioned lefty John King to Triple-A in order to open a spot for Speas on the active roster.

Now 28 years old, Hearn was acquired in the 2018 deadline deal that sent reliever Keone Kela to the Pirates. The southpaw was a mainstay on the Rangers’ pitching staff from 2021-22, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. While the overall 4.89 ERA he posted in 204 1/3 innings during that time hardly stands out, Hearn has pronounced splits between his work as a starter and a reliever.

In 110 1/3 career innings out of the rotation, Hearn has been rocked for a 6.36 ERA. Like many pitchers, he’s had particularly rough struggled when turning a lineup over for a third time; opponents have batted .343/.438/.567 against him in such situations.

Out of the bullpen, however, Hearn has looked like a different and quite serviceable pitcher. He’s tallied 118 2/3 innings of relief work in the big leagues, logging a 3.94 ERA and fanning exactly one quarter of his opponents. His 11.2% walk rate out of the ’pen is well north of the league average, but Hearn has demonstrated an ability to miss bats and limit damage while averaging close to 96 mph with his heater in short stints.

He’s worked primarily out of the bullpen in Triple-A this season, posting a 3.66 ERA and a very strong 30.2% strikeout rate. Command has continued to plague Hearn in Round Rock though, evidenced by a 13.2% walk rate plus another four plunked batters in his 39 1/3 innings there.

Hearn is optionable for the remainder of the current season. That, combined with solid career marks in the bullpen, plus velocity on his fastball and a history of missing bats, could certainly lead to trade interest in the southpaw.

The Rangers will have a week to trade Hearn or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s earning $1.5MM this year and has at least two more seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining, so it’s feasible but certainly not guaranteed that he’d be claimed.

Taking Hearn’s spot on the roster is the 25-year-old Speas, a potential late-inning powerhouse whose trio of plus or better pitches is at times undercut by a lack of command. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the flamethrowing righty 14th among Texas farmhands earlier this month, touting his “vicious” slider’s “absurd” movement. He’s throwing that slider or his low-90s cutter a combined 85% of the time in the minors this year, Longenhagen notes, due in part because of his struggles locating a four-seamer that can routinely hit 102 mph.

A second-round pick by the Rangers back in 2016, Speas has a ridiculous 1.00 ERA in 36 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He’s fanned 40.4% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate that represents a career-low. The walk rate would likely be higher if Speas leaned on his heater more regularly, but for now the emphasis on his slider and cutter has proven a recipe for success.

It’s increasingly common for relievers to throw their breaking pitches more than their fastballs, and while Speas is an extreme example of that, his ability to do so with success in the upper minors positions him as a potential late-inning weapon for manager Bruce Bochy.