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Brandon Mann

Rangers Sign Cody Allen

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The Rangers have announced a minor-league deal with righty Cody Allen. He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training.

Southpaw Brandon Mann is also joining the Texas organization. His own minors deal won’t come with a spring invite.

Allen is a classic bounceback candidate. The 31-year-old was a high-quality reliever for years until he ran into a tough 2018 season and then collapsed in the following season.

Last year, Allen’s entire approach was shaken as he lost velocity and suffered a dive in his swinging-strike rate. His walk rate shot up while opposing hitters ran up a 54.5% hard contact rate and 94.3 mph average exit velocity.

Allen does still possess elite fastball spin, so there’s something to build off of. Perhaps a lengthy respite and some tweaking will help him get back on track.

As for Mann, 35, he made a stunning (but brief) late-career MLB debut with the Rangers in 2018. He worked for Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines last year, turning in 59 1/3 innings of 4.70 ERA pitching with 10.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/12/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Right-hander Brandon Mann has signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (h/t to Kyle Boddy of Driveline Baseball). The 34-year-old Mann, whom the Rangers outrighted in November, was a 27th-round pick of the then-Devil Rays in 2002 who finally debuted in the majors last season. He struggled to a 5.40 ERA with 3.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 over 8 1/3 innings, however, and will now return to Japan, where he pitched with Yokohama from 2011-12.
  • In a move that flew under MLBTR’s radar, infielder Sean Miller signed a minor league contract with the Orioles in December, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Miler, a 24-year-old Maryland native, had been with the Twins since they picked him in the 10th round of the 2015 draft. While with the Twins, Miller managed a mere .599 OPS over 1,287 minor league plate appearances, including 34 at the Triple-A level last season.

Rangers Decline Club Options Over Chirinos, Fister, Moore, Perez

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The Rangers have declined club options over catcher Robinson Chirinos and pitchers Doug Fister, Matt Moore, and Martin Perez. That’s a surprising move on the veteran backstop, though all three hurlers seemed destined to be sent onto the open market.

The Texas organization has also announced a long list of players who were outrighted from the 40-man roster. Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Clayton Blackburn, Brandon Mann, Carlos Perez, and Ryan Rua are all weighing outright assignments after seemingly clearing waivers.

Chirinos, 34, had seemed a fairly easy choice to remain behind the dish in Texas. His option had risen in value to $4.5MM due to plate-appearance escalators, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes on Twitter, but the team will pay him $1MM just to walk away.

While Chirinos is not noted for his skill behind the dish — in particular, he slipped to dreadful framing ratings in 2018 — he’s a highly respected player. And he also has consistently delivered much more offensive than the average catcher, with a .233/.324/.438 career slash and 35 home runs over the 735 plate appearances he has accrued since the start of 2017.

All three pitchers will be looking for bounceback opportunities after forgettable seasons. Fister will receive a $500K buyout; his option was priced at $4.5MM. The Moore deal included a $750K  buyout, which he’ll take home in lieu of a $10MM payday. Perez, meanwhile, gets $1MM in total buyouts as the club passes on its chance to keep him in 2019 ($7.5MM) and 2020 ($9MM).

Rangers Purchase Contract Of Brandon Mann

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The Rangers announced today that they have selected the contract of lefty Brandon Mann. He’ll join the team for its final series.

Mann, 34, has already had a season to remember, having debuted in the majors after first becoming a professional way back in 2002. Now, he’ll get a chance to suit up in Seattle, not far from where he grew up.

Though he was not terribly effective in his six MLB appearances this year, Mann got the job done at Triple-A. Over 52 1/3 frames in 36 appearances, he posted a 2.41 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/18

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This post will house the minor MLB transactions of the day:

  • The Rangers announced that southpaw Brandon Mann has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He was designated for assignment recently. This year, Mann became one of the older rookies you’ll ever encounter when he reached the majors for the first time at 34. He earned his way up after carrying a 2.70 ERA through 43 1/3 frames at Round Rock, though he managed only 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in that span. In 7 1/3 big-league innings, Mann allowed five earned runs on four hits while recording two strikeouts against four walks.

Rangers Claim Zac Curtis, Designate Brandon Mann

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The Rangers have claimed southpaw Zac Curtis off waivers from the Phillies, per club announcements. In a corresponding move, the Texas organization designated fellow lefty Brandon Mann for assignment.

Curtis has held opposing hitters to just two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings on the year, but he has also permitted ten walks to go with his ten strikeouts. In 31 1/3 innings of MLB action spread over the past three years, he has worked to a 3.73 ERA but has matched this season’s ugly 1:1 K/BB ratio (26 apiece).

Of course, Curtis has spent most of the season at Triple-A. There, he has worked to a 3.00 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 over his 42 innings. He’ll head to Triple-A on optional assignment when he reports to the Texas organization.

As for Mann, it has been a dream season even if things didn’t pan out fully with the Rangers. Remarkably, he made his MLB debut at 34 years of age, though he struggled through six appearances. Mann did turn in a strong effort at Triple-A on the year, posting 43 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.

Rangers Claim Deck McGuire, Place Matt Bush On 10-Day DL

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The Rangers have claimed righty Deck McGuire off waivers from the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. He’ll be optioned to Triple-A.

The Texas organization has also shifted righty Matt Bush to the 10-day DL with what is being called a right elbow strain. Southpaws Yohander Mendez and Brandon Mann have been called up to the MLB roster from Round Rock.

McGuire was designated for assignment recently after throwing 9 1/3 middling innings for the Jays. But he produced solid results last year in his first, brief MLB action and has been effective at Triple-A over the past two seasons.

Bush just hasn’t pitched to his prior standard thus far in 2018. His upper-nineties heater is down about a tick on average, his swinging-strike rate has dropped to 9.4%, and he’s averaging just 7.4 K/9 with 5.5 BB/9 along with a 4.70 ERA that may understate his struggles somewhat.

Rangers Purchase Brandon Mann’s Contract

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The Rangers have purchased the contract of left-hander Brandon Mann from Triple-A Round Rock, according to an announcement from the team. Texas optioned southpaw Yohander Mendez to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Mann is finally in position to make his major league debut 16 years after the franchise formerly known as the Devil Rays selected him in the 27th round of the 2002 draft. Set to turn 34 on Wednesday, Mann is in line to become the second-oldest Ranger to make his MLB debut, per the team’s executive VP of communications, John Blake (via Twitter).

Mann has taken a circuitous route to get to this point, as you’d expect. In addition to spending several years in the minor leagues with multiple franchises, Mann has garnered experience on the independent circuit and in Japan. After playing the previous couple seasons with the Oakland organization, including a 2016 campaign in which he earned an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Mann inked a minors pact with the Rangers over the winter. He then produced excellent results in Round Rock to open the year, with a 1.56 ERA and 6.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 across 17 1/3 innings (12 appearances, one start), en route to a big league promotion.

Minor Moves: Tanaka, Corpas, Mann

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We'll track Wednesday's minor moves here…

  • The Giants signed second baseman Kensuke Tanaka to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB Spring Training, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The former Nippon Ham Fighters star will be given an opportunity to compete for a utility spot on the big league roster. 
  • The Rockies signed right-hander Manny Corpas to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp, writes Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The veteran reliever served as the closer for Colorado in 2007 when the team reached the World Series for the first and only time in franchise history. The 30-year-old made 48 appearances for the Cubs in 2012, but became a free agent at the end of the season when he refused an outright assignment to the minor leagues. 
  • The Nationals signed left-hander Brandon Mann to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, reports Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). Mann, 28, has spent the past two seasons pitching in Japan for the Yokohama Bay Stars where he posted a 4.27 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 92.2 innings.
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