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Rangers Recall Cole Winn For MLB Debut, Place Cody Bradford On IL

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The Rangers announced a pair of roster moves this afternoon, placing left-hander Cody Bradford on the 15-day IL with a low-back strain and recalling right-hander Cole Winn to take his place on the active roster.

It’ll be Winn’s major league debut the first time he gets into a game. The 24-year-old righty was selected fifteenth overall by the Rangers in the first round of the 2018 draft and made some noise as a top-100 prospect following a dominant 2021 season that saw him pitch to a 2.41 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate in 21 starts split between the Double- and Triple-A levels of the minors. Unfortunately, Winn has struggled badly in the years since then. 2022 saw the right-hander post a whopping 6.51 ERA in 28 starts with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate spiked to an unwieldy 15.2%, prompting the club to move Winn to the bullpen during the 2023 season.

The move to multi-inning relief work did not bring an end to Winn’s struggles, as he posted a staggering 7.22 ERA in 101 innings of work last year. His peripheral numbers also got even worse, as his walk rate crept up to 16% while his strikeout rate plummeted to just 19.7%. Things haven’t looked much better for Winn so far this year, as he posted a 9.82 ERA in 7 2/3 innings during camp this spring and has allowed five runs (four earned) across his first four appearances at Triple-A this season. Despite the shaky results, Winn will nonetheless get the opportunity to pitch at the big league level, helping to provide depth to a bullpen that’s been leaned on for 40% of the club’s innings in recent days.

Making room for Winn on the active roster is Bradford, who heads to the injured list with a back strain following an excellent start to the 2024 season. The 26-year-old southpaw has pitched to a 1.40 ERA and a 2.47 FIP with 17 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings of work across three starts so far this year, forming a formidable duo with veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi at the front of the club’s rotation to this point in the season. The Rangers will surely miss Bradford’s production while he’s on the IL, but Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicates that his absence could be a relatively short one, with Bradford potentially only needing the minimum amount of time off. If that ends up being the case, Bradford would first be eligible to return on April 25, as today’s IL move was backdated to April 11.

In the meantime, however, Texas will need to look elsewhere to fill Bradford’s spot in the club’s starting rotation. Per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, that help will come in the form of right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year deal with the club last month and has been building up in the minors since then. Landry reports that Lorenzen is set to make his Rangers debut in a start tomorrow against the Tigers, for whom he pitched the first half of the 2023 season. Lorenzen’s time with Detroit wound up being something of a breakout for the right-hander, as he pitched to a 3.58 ERA (125 ERA+) with a 3.86 FIP in 18 starts with the club before being shipped to the Phillies ahead of last summer’s trade deadline.

Rangers Notes: Seager, Jung, Langford, Bradford

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Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News had some positive updates from Rangers camp on Friday, reporting that manager Bruce Bochy is “more optimistic” that Corey Seager and Josh Jung will both be in the Opening Day lineup at the end of the month. Seager had surgery on a sports hernia about six weeks ago, while Josh Jung has been nursing a calf strain since mid-February. Neither has played a game thus far in spring training, but both players figure to be key pieces for the club as it looks to defend its 2023 World Series championship this season.

Seager, 30 next month, won World Series MVP honors during the club’s title run in the fall and slashed an excellent .327/.390/.623 en route to his fourth All Star appearance and a second-place finish in AL MVP voting. Jung, meanwhile, made his first career All Star appearance and finish fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting on the heels of a solid rookie campaign that saw him hit a respectable .266/.315/.467 in 122 games. Losing either player for an extended period would be a significant blow to the Rangers’ chances in a competitive AL West that’s seen the Astros add star closer Josh Hader while seeming also pursuing two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell while the Mariners have completely retooled their starting lineup to add threatening players such as Jorge Polanco and former Ranger Mitch Garver.

Of course, the Rangers have versatile youngster Ezequiel Duran able to help out on the left side of the infield if either Jung or Seager were to open the season on the shelf. Duran, 25 in May, slashed a solid .276/.324/.443 in 439 trips to the plate last year while splitting time between all four infield spots and both outfield corners. With that being said, Duran could already be tabbed to cover for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who is also questionable for Opening Day due to an oblique strain. Aside from Duran, the Rangers have Jose Barrero and Josh Smith as infield depth options should Seager, Jung, and Lowe start the season on the shelf.

More from Rangers camp…

  • Grant also notes that, according to GM Chris Young, top prospect Wyatt Langford has done “everything he can” to make a case for himself as a member of the Opening Day roster. Langford, 22, was the club’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft and slashed an incredible .360/.480/.677 in 200 plate appearances across four levels of the minors down the stretch last season. He’s continued to tear the cover off the ball this spring with a .361/.442/.806 in 43 trips to the plate during camp. Should Langford make the roster, he’d figure to factor into the club’s outfield/DH mix alongside Evan Carter, Adolis Garcia, and Leody Taveras.
  • While Young didn’t make any commitments to Langford as a regular entering the season, he told reporters (including Grant) recently that left-hander Cody Bradford is going to be in the club’s starting rotation to open the season. With Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning all seemingly locked into rotation spots of their own, that would appear to preclude the club from making additions such as former Ranger Jordan Montgomery to their starting mix prior to Opening Day. When asked about the possibility of further rotation additions, Young was noncommittal, simply stating that “The group we have is the group we have, and it’s a great group.” Bradford has certainly done everything he can to earn a rotation spot this spring, pitching to a 2.45 ERA across four appearances including three starts.

Orioles, Rangers Announce ALDS Rosters

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The Rangers and Orioles begin their AL Division Series matchup today in Baltimore, with Texas southpaw Andrew Heaney starting against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish.  With Game 1 just a few hours away, the two clubs each announced their full 26-man rosters for the series.

The most prominent omission is John Means, as O’s manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner) that Means is suffering from some minor elbow soreness.  Since Means hadn’t pitched since September 7, he threw a simulated game to keep his arm fresh, but that’s when the soreness developed.  As ominous as this sounds for a pitcher who only just returned from Tommy John surgery rehab a few weeks ago, Means is expected to be available should the Orioles advance to the ALCS.

Means posted a 2.66 ERA over 23 2/3 innings in his four starts since rejoining the roster after his lengthy rehab, though a tiny .130 BABIP helped paper over more concerning number.  Means’ 6.00 SIERA was far greater than his ERA, and while not a big strikeout pitcher even pre-surgery, the left-hander had only an 11.4% strikeout rate during his return.

There’s less surprise with the Texas roster, as the Rangers are fielding basically the same group who defeated the Rays in the Wild Card Series.  Left-hander Cody Bradford is the only newcomer, taking the spot of righty Grant Anderson as Texas is apparently looking for some more reinforcement against Baltimore’s array of left-handed bats.

Max Scherzer didn’t make the roster, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) writes that Scherzer isn’t ready for the start of the series, but could emerge by Game 3 in a relief role if an injury vacancy opens up on the Rangers’ roster.  Scherzer hasn’t pitched since September 12 due to a teres major strain, but though the injury was thought to be a probable season-ender, the superstar has been diligently strengthening his arm and throwing bullpen sessions.

Grayson Rodriguez will start Game 2 for the Orioles, but with Means out of action, Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer now step up as the top options to start Game 3 and a possible Game 4.  Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi are lined up to start Games 2 and 3 for Texas, and two off-days in the series mean that it would likely be Montgomery against Bradish in a winner-take-all Game 5.

The full rosters…

Rangers

Orioles

Rangers Promote Owen White

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3:15pm: The Rangers have now announced the moves, recalling both White and Bradford. In corresponding moves, left-hander Cole Ragans and right-hander Yerry Rodríguez were optioned to Round Rock.

12:55pm: The Rangers are promoting pitching prospect prospect Owen White, according to Ken Rosenthal and Sam Blum of The Athletic. White is already on the 40-man roster but will need a corresponding move to get onto the active roster.

White, 23, is generally considered to be one of the top 100 prospects in the league. Baseball America currently has him at #83, MLB Pipeline at #47 and FanGraphs at #30, while preseason rankings had him at #87 at ESPN and he was in the #70 spot on the listing from Keith Law of The Athletic.

Selected in the second round of the 2018 draft, his professional debut was delayed by Tommy John surgery in early 2019 and then the pandemic canceling the minor leagues in 2020. In 2021, he suffered a broken hand but was able to throw 35 1/3 innings between the Complex League and Single-A ball, posting a 3.06 ERA before adding another 28 1/3 frames in the Arizona Fall League. Last year was split between High-A and Double-A, with White able to post a combined 3.59 ERA over 80 1/3 innings between those two levels. He struck out 31.7% of opponents while walking just 7%.

He has a four-pitch mix that features a mid-90s fastball that can get up to 98 mph, along with a slider, curveball and changeup. Beyond the stuff, White is often praised for his ability to control and command that arsenal. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

The Rangers are now skipping White over Triple-A, though it doesn’t seem it’s a situation where he has forced their hand with a dominant performance. Here in 2023, he’s been back at Double-A, having tossed 53 1/3 innings over 11 starts. He has a 3.54 ERA, though with diminished peripherals thus far including a 21.1% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 46.1% ground ball rate.

The promotion seems to have been spurred by some challenges the club is facing in patching a rotation together in the short term. Jacob deGrom is out for the rest of the season due to elbow surgery, leaving them with Jon Gray, Martín Pérez, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning. Gray was supposed to start today’s game but was scratched with a blister issue. With pitchers like Jake Odorizzi and Glenn Otto out with their own injuries, the Rangers will recall Cody Bradford to start tonight’s contest. Bradford has already made a couple of spot starts this year but just tossed 99 pitches over eight innings in a Triple-A game on Friday. He’ll be taking the ball on just three days rest tonight and will likely have some restrictions because of it.

With the club having used five relievers in last night’s 12-inning game against the Angels, it’s not the best time to be sending out a starter with a short leash. White last pitched on Wednesday and could perhaps take on a bulk role behind Bradford, if necessary.

The club’s plans going forward will likely depend on how today goes and how Gray’s blister reacts in the coming days. If he heals up quickly, perhaps Bradford or White or both will end up back in the minors in short order, though that will remain to be seen. Either way, it seems there’s a chance that Rangers’ fans and baseball fans in general will have a chance to see one of the best pitching prospects in the league take on major league hitters tonight.

Even if White were to somehow end up staying in the big leagues for the rest of the year, he would come up short of a full year of service time. The latest collective bargaining agreement gives him the ability to earn a full year anyway since he was on at least two of the top 100 lists at BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline, but he would have to finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting. With the season already nearing the midway point, he would have a tough hill to climb, having to chase guys like Hunter Brown or Josh Jung who already have a headstart on tallying stats for the year.

Image courtesy USA Today Sports.

Rangers Place Ezequiel Duran On 10-Day Injured List; Travis Jankowski Activated

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The Rangers announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, most notably the news that Ezequiel Duran has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 24) due to mild discomfort in his right oblique.  Outfielder Travis Jankowski was activated from his own 10-day IL stint and will take Jankowski’s place on the active roster.  Left-hander Cody Bradford was also called up from Triple-A to take the spot of Dane Dunning, as Dunning is going on the paternity list.

One of many contributors to the red-hot Texas lineup this season, Duran has made the most of some extended playing time when Corey Seager went on the 10-day IL.  Duran became the Rangers’ top choice as the fill-in shortstop, and since Seager returned last week, Duran had been getting some DH time in order to keep his bat in the lineup.  After a modest .643 OPS over 220 plate appearances in his 2022 rookie season, Duran has broken out with seven homers and a .301/.340/.515 slash line over 144 PA this year.  While Duran’s 2.8% walk rate is near the bottom of the league and he has benefited from a .358 BABIP, he has still been making a lot of hard contact, and his plus speed has contributed to that good fortune with balls in play.

Duran missed the last few games with what was initially described as rib soreness, and while the new designation of an oblique problem isn’t exactly good news, the injury does seem to be relatively mild.  If all goes well, he might just miss only a minimal amount of time, plus he already has a few days banked via the retroactive IL placement.

Jankowski returns after missing just shy of three weeks due to a right hamstring strain.  Signed to a minor league contract during the offseason, the veteran has hit well (.309/.382/.412) over 77 PA while seeing time in mostly in left and center field.  Left field has been a relative weak link in the Texas lineup, with the Rangers juggling Jankowski, Robbie Grossman, Bubba Thompson, Josh H. Smith and even Duran in and out of the position.  This could be a regular spot for Duran when he returns from the IL, or the Rangers might look for a bigger left field upgrade at the trade deadline.

Rangers Select Cody Bradford

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May 15: The Rangers have made it official, announcing the selection of Bradford’s contract today. In a corresponding move, righty Yerry Rodríguez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

May 14: The Rangers announced that Cody Bradford will have his contract selected from Triple-A on Monday, as Bradford is slated to start Texas’ game against the Braves.  The 25-year-old left-hander will be making his Major League debut.  Texas will have to make a corresponding move for the 26-man active roster, but there’s already space on the 40-man after Ian Kennedy was designated for assignment earlier this week.

It might end up being just a cup of coffee in the Show for Bradford, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Rangers are using him as a spot starter to give the rotation an extra day of rest.  The Rangers are 10 games into a stretch of 13 games in 13 consecutive days, and the rotation is already a little short-handed with Dane Dunning taking the place of the injured Jacob deGrom.  Dunning has pitched well in his first two starts but hasn’t thrown more than 72 pitches, so he’ll a bit of a breather before taking the mound again on Tuesday.

This opens the door for Bradford to make his first big league appearance in front of his local fans, as Bradford’s hometown of Aledo, Texas is about 40 minutes west of Globe Life Field.  Bradford also stayed close to home in playing his college ball at Baylor, and the Rangers made him a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft.  Between thoracic outlet surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Bradford didn’t make his pro debut until 2021.

Perhaps due to this layoff, the southpaw was rather inconsistent at high-A and Double-A in 2021 and 2022, though he limited walks and had respectable strikeout numbers.  This season has been a big surge in bottom-line results, as Bradford has a tiny 0.91 ERA over seven starts and 39 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock.  A .206 BABIP and a huge 92.5% strand rate indicate a lot of good luck in that minuscule ERA, but Bradford has also allowed only one home run, which is a positive step after surrendering 18 long balls over 118 2/3 frames last year.

Baseball America ranks Bradford 22nd amongst Rangers prospects, while MLB Pipeline ranks him 26th.  His 60-grade changeup is considered to be his best pitch, while his 55-grade fastball has good movement despite an average velocity in the low 90s.  Bradford started using a cutter last season that is showing good results as both a third offering, and as a way to better disguise a slider that has been mostly ineffective, as per BA’s scouting report.

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