Rangers Select Hunter Wood, Designate Jack Kruger
The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Hunter Wood and designated catcher Jack Kruger for assignment. They also optioned lefty Wes Benjamin to Triple-A Round Rock.
Wood is now in line for his first major league action since 2019. The Rangers signed Wood to a minor league contract last offseason after he spent 2020 with the Cleveland organization, though he didn’t appear in the bigs. The 27-year-old has pitched to a solid 3.32 ERA/4.22 SIERA with a 21.6 percent strikeout rate and an 8.0 percent walk rate in 86 2/3 innings between the Rays and Indians.
Kruger joined the Rangers as a waiver claim from the Angels on May 9, but he’s back in limbo in less than a week. He didn’t even take an at-bat with the Rangers before they designated him. As a minor leaguer, the 26-year-old has topped out in Double-A ball, where he has hit .262/.309/.354 in 560 plate appearances.
Rangers Place Kohei Arihara on Injured List, Claim Jack Kruger
Before this afternoon’s game against the Mariners, the Rangers placed starter Kohei Arihara on the 10-day injured list with a right middle finger contusion. Utilityman Eli White has been recalled in his place. Additionally, Texas announced they’ve claimed catcher Jack Kruger off waivers from the Angels. Right-hander Kyle Cody was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster. Cody has a right shoulder impingement.
After a productive career with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Arihara signed a low-cost, two-year deal with the Rangers. His MLB career hasn’t gotten off to a good start, as the righty has worked to a 6.59 ERA/5.54 SIERA over his first seven starts. Arihara has thrown a decent amount of strikes, but his 6.3% swinging strike rate and 13.4% strikeout rate are among the worst in the league. He’s also been too susceptible to the home run ball, having coughed up seven dingers in just 28 2/3 innings. With Arihara on the shelf, the Rangers could turn to Hyeon-jong Yang or Kolby Allard to fill his spot in the rotation.
Kruger is a 26-year-old catcher who made his MLB debut with Los Angeles this year. Ironically enough, he lost his spot on the Angels’ 40-man roster when L.A. acquired fellow backstop Drew Butera from the Rangers for cash considerations earlier in the week. The two catchers will essentially wind up swapping places. Kruger has a .262/.309/.354 line in 560 career Double-A plate appearances.
Angels Make Several Roster Moves
The Angels announced several roster moves Thursday: They selected the contracts of outfielder Jon Jay and catcher Jack Kruger, placed backstop Max Stassi (concussion) and right-hander Chris Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) on the 10-day injured list, and reinstated righty Felix Pena from the IL.
Jay spent time in the majors with the Angels earlier this season, but they designated him for assignment on April 16 after he went 1-for-8 at the plate. He’ll rejoin an Angels outfield going through some upheaval at the moment, as Justin Upton is battling knee problems and Jared Walsh is heading to first base in the wake of the team’s decision on Thursday to designate Albert Pujols.
Kruger, 26, could make his major league debut with Stassi out for at least the next week. The Los Angeles native was a 20th-rounder in 2016 who hasn’t played above Double-A ball yet. He owns a .265/.326/.357 line with 15 home runs in 1,392 minor league plate appearances.
Rodriguez has held his own out of the Angels’ bullpen this year, having thrown 15 2/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball with 17 strikeouts against eight walks, but manager Joe Maddon said his injury isn’t serious (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). They’ll replace him with Pena, a regular in their pitching staff from 2018-20. Pena amassed 215 2/3 frames of 4.34 ERA ball during that span, though he hasn’t contributed this year after straining a hamstring during the spring.