Rangers Designate Jesus Tinoco For Assignment
The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Jesus Tinoco for assignment. Right-hander Cole Winn was recalled to take Tinoco’s spot on the active roster.
This has been Tinoco’s second stint with Texas, as he had previously pitched to a strong 2.18 ERA with a 4.22 FIP in 20 2/3 innings of work with the club back in 2022. That said, he walked a worrisome 11.9% of batters faced that year and ultimately found himself outrighted off the club’s roster that November. Tinoco spent the 2023 campaign pitching overseas for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Seibu Lions, and the righty performed well with a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings of work in Pacific League play.
A 12.5% walk rate during that time suggested that Tinoco had not yet resolved his struggles with control, but the Rangers nonetheless offered him a minor league deal back in December. He eventually made his way back onto the active roster in Texas last month, but his second stint with the club has not gone well. In 10 innings of work across nine appearances with the Rangers this year, Tinoco has walked a hefty 14% of batters faced while surrendering an 8.10 ERA with a 6.64 FIP. That performance proved to be untenable for the Rangers, and after the righty allowed two runs in an inning of relief during last night’s game against the Mariners, the club decided to part ways with Tinoco once again. They’ll now have one week to either trade Tinoco or attempt to pass him through waivers. Since Tinoco has been outrighted previously in his career, the righty will have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment if he so chooses.
Replacing Tinoco on the club’s 40-man roster is Winn, 24. The youngster was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft by the Rangers and was once a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport but struggled badly during the 2022 and 2023 seasons at the Triple-A level, substantially lowering his prospect stock. That led the Rangers to convert Winn to a full-time relief role in 2024, and he’s generally taken to the job well with a 3.45 ERA and a 30.3% strikeout rate at the Triple-A level this year.
Unfortunately, Winn’s first taste of big league action did not go over well. While he fired off a streak of seven scoreless innings across his first five outings, he surrendered a whopping 11 runs in the month of May across just 7 1/3 innings of work while striking out only 13.1% of batters faced. Those brutal numbers left the Rangers to send Winn back to the minor leagues in late May, although he’s now back in the majors just under a month after his demotion. If Winn can harness the high-octane stuff that allowed him to dominate back in April, it’s not hard to imagine him providing valuable middle relief innings to a beleaguered Rangers bullpen that ranks 25th in baseball by ERA.
Rangers Place Jon Gray On 15-Day Injured List
The Rangers are placing right-hander Jon Gray on the injured list due to a groin strain, manager Bruce Bochy announced this morning (X link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The team is terming it a “mild” strain, but it’ll nevertheless be enough to sit Gray down for at least the next 15 days. In a corresponding move, Texas will select the contract of right-hander Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock. Left-hander Cody Bradford is being transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to accommodate Tinoco’s addition. Bradford has already missed six weeks with a back strain and stress fracture in his ribs.
Gray joins an an entire rotation’s worth of starters on the injured list in Texas. The Rangers are also without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi and the aforementioned Bradford at the moment. That’ll leave Texas with a rotation including Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Michael Lorenzen, Jose Ureña and a yet-to-be-determined fifth option. (Tinoco is a reliever and won’t step onto the starting staff.) The top depth options on the 40-man roster include Jack Leiter and Owen White. While Leiter has thrived pitching in Triple-A, both of those once-vaunted prospects has struggled in the big leagues this season.
Subtracting Gray from the roster would be a notable blow even without that litany of other injuries. The former No. 3 overall draft pick is out to perhaps the best start of his career, pitching to a tiny 2.21 ERA through his first 57 frames of the season. Gray’s 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground-ball rate are all at or slightly better than the league average. His ERA is being helped out by a microscopic 3.3% homer-to-flyball rate that’s helped him average just 0.32 homers per nine frames this season. But even metrics that normalize home run rate (e.g. his 3.68 SIERA) suggest Gray has still been a decidedly above-average hurler thanks to that strong blend of whiffs, grounders and walks (or lack thereof).
Tinoco, 29, will return for a second stint with the Rangers. He pitched in the Texas organization in 2022, famously giving up Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62nd home run late in the season. That’s a down note in what was otherwise a strong year. In 20 2/3 frames with the Rangers he logged a 2.18 ERA — albeit with lackluster strikeout and walk rates of 21.4% and 11.9%, respectively.
Tinoco spent the 2023 season with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and handled himself well for the most part, but he returned stateside on a minor league pact with the Rangers over the winter. He’s gotten out to a decent start in Round Rock, pitching to a 3.80 earned run average and fanning just over 30% of his opponents in 21 1/3 innings. Overall, Tinoco has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons and compiled 66 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 13.9% walk rate and 44% grounder rate. Command has clearly been an issue for him throughout his professional career, and that’s been the case again in 2024, evidenced by an 11.2% walk rate in Round Rock.
Rangers, Jesus Tinoco Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Jesus Tinoco, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Presumably the Rep 1 client will head to big league camp this spring.
It’s a reunion between the two parties, as Texas was also Tinoco’s most recent MLB club. He pitched 20 2/3 innings of 2.18 ERA ball for the 2022 Rangers, fanning 21.4% of his opponents against a more concerning 11.9% walk rate. Tinoco’s run with the Rangers was mostly solid, but he’ll also forever be remembered by many as the pitcher who had the distinction of serving up Aaron Judge‘s record-setting 62nd home run late in the ’22 campaign.
Tinoco, 28, spent the 2023 season with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He notched a tidy 2.38 earned run average with the Lions but did so with a below-average strikeout rate (18.2%) and a shaky walk rate (12.5%) that resembled his 2022 marks in Texas. Tinoco, who was famously traded alongside Jose Reyes and Miguel Castro in the 2015 blockbuster that send Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins from Colorado to Toronto, has a career 4.05 ERA in 66 2/3 big league frames.
The Rangers have a few spots at the back of the bullpen solidified, where Jose Leclerc, Josh Sborz, Brock Burke, Cody Bradford and recently signed Kirby Yates all seem likely to have roles. But there’s still competition for the remaining few spots and likely will be, even if GM Chris Young and his staff still make another veteran addition or two before the end of the offseason.
Rangers Outright Jesus Tinoco
The Rangers announced they’ve outrighted pitcher Jesus Tinoco to Triple-A Round Rock. Following that and a bundle of other moves involving the Rangers, their 40-man roster now sits at 34.
Tinoco, 27, tossed 20 2/3 innings of 2.18 ERA ball in 2022 across two stints in the big leagues with the Rangers. On the surface, those are excellent numbers but Tinoco had an opponent’s BABIP of just .189, and a LOB rate of 89.1%, suggesting there was a fair bit of regression due for the Venezuelan. He also threw 44 innings out of the bullpen at Triple-A, striking out batters 28.5% of the time and walking 9.5% of them on the way to a 3.27 ERA.
Tinoco was originally signed by the Blue Jays back in 2011. He was traded to the Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki deal in 2015, and wound up making his major league debut in 2019 there. That was the start of a period of bouncing around the league a bit, as the Rockies would deal him to the Marlins in August of 2020, only to claim him back just a few weeks later. He was released by the Rockies at the end of the 2021 season, and latched on with the Rangers. All told, Tinoco has pitched to a 4.05 ERA across 66 2/3 innings in the big leagues.
Rangers Select Jesus Tinoco
The Rangers announced they’ve selected reliever Jesús Tinoco onto the major league roster. Outfielder Nick Solak has also been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to take the two active roster spots created by September expansion. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, Texas transferred righty Josh Sborz from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.
Tinoco signed a minor league deal with Texas over the offseason. The hard-throwing righty has spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A, although he did join the MLB club as a temporary replacement while they navigated some COVID-19 issues in June. He appeared in five games, working 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball while averaging 96.4 MPH on his fastball, before heading back to Round Rock. That brief showing marked his fourth consecutive year logging some MLB action. Previously a Rockie and Marlin, Tinoco owns a 4.88 ERA over 51 2/3 career innings.
The 27-year-old has yet to establish himself in a big league bullpen, but he’s had a strong 2022 campaign in the minors. Through 44 Triple-A frames, he owns a 3.27 ERA in a hitter-friendly league. He’s backed up that run prevention with an above-average 28.5% strikeout rate and an elite 58.7% ground-ball percentage. Tinoco will now get another opportunity to try to carry that over against big league hitters as he looks to stake a claim to a spot in next year’s bullpen. He’s out of minor league option years, however, so the Rangers have to keep him in the majors or expose him to waivers now that he’s earned a 40-man spot.
Solak has bounced on and off the MLB roster on a couple occasions this year. A former well-regarded hitting prospect, he hasn’t managed to find much in the way of consistent success against big league arms. Since a strong 2019 rookie season in limited action, Solak has posted below-average numbers at the plate. He’s also fallen down the defensive spectrum, moving to the corner outfield after struggling as a second baseman. Those issues on both sides of the ball have kept the 27-year-old primarily in Triple-A this season, but he’s responded to the demotion well to earn another look. Through 259 plate appearances with the Express, Solak is hitting .278/.371/.489 with ten home runs and a robust 11.6% walk rate.
Sborz just landed on the IL a couple days ago with an elbow sprain. He’s now officially shut down for the season. He’ll finish the campaign with a 6.45 ERA over 22 1/3 innings of relief, although he did strike out an excellent 32% of batters faced.
Rangers Select Meibrys Viloria, Option Sam Huff
The Rangers shuffled their backup catcher situation this evening, selecting Meibrys Viloria onto the MLB club and optioning Sam Huff to Triple-A Round Rock. Texas also reinstated infielder Josh Smith from the 10-day injured list, brought back Mitch Garver from the COVID-19 IL, and returned Zach Reks and Jesús Tinoco to Round Rock. (Tinoco will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, as he’d been added to the MLB team as a designated COVID substitute). To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Viloria, outfielder Eli White has moved from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Viloria is headed to the big leagues for the first time as a member of the Texas organization. He played in 67 games with the Royals between 2018-20, hitting .215/.267/.287. Kansas City outrighted him off the 40-man roster last April, and he elected free agency at the end of the season after spending the entire year in the upper minors. Viloria latched on with the Rangers on a non-roster pact just before the lockout.
The lefty-hitting backstop has spent the entire season with Round Rock. He’s posted an eye-opening .344/.471/.512 line through 155 plate appearances to earn his way back to the majors. Those results have been propped up by an unsustainable .444 batting average on balls in play, but he’s also walked at a massive 17.4% clip. Viloria’s still just 25 years old and was a fairly well-regarded prospect during his time in the Royals’ system, so perhaps he’ll be able to carry some of that form over against big league arms. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Rangers can freely move him between Arlington and Round Rock now that he’s on the 40-man roster.
Huff heads back to Triple-A, where he’s posted a .260/.349/.575 line in 19 games. He’s hit .282/.320/.352 in 27 MLB contests this year, but he’s collected only three extra-base hits and is striking out at a 28% clip. Huff has run into a rough patch since the calendar flipped to June, while first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has caught fire. Between Jonah Heim at catcher, Lowe at first base and Garver’s return at designated hitter, there wasn’t going to be room in the lineup for Huff most days.
Smith missed nearly three weeks battling a shoulder sprain. The rookie steps in at third base tonight, where he’s likely to split time with fellow first-year player (and former Yankees prospect) Ezequiel Durán. Garver and starter Glenn Otto both went on the COVID list two weeks ago; Garver steps back into the MLB lineup, while Otto is headed to Round Rock for what figures to be a brief rehab stint before being activated.
White, meanwhile, suffered a fracture in his right wrist last week. He underwent surgery and is unlikely to begin any baseball activities before the start of August, meaning he’ll miss at least a couple months.
Rangers Place Glenn Otto, Mitch Garver On COVID IL
The Rangers announced a series of roster moves today, with right-hander Glenn Otto and catcher Mitch Garver heading to the COVID-related injured list. Infielder Andy Ibanez was also optioned to Triple-A. Brad Miller has been reinstated from the injured list to take one of the open roster spots, while right-handers Tyson Miller and Jesus Tinoco have been added as “replacement players”.
The Rangers now have three players on the COVID list, as Brett Martin was sent there a few days ago. The timing is particularly unfortunate for the Rangers, as Otto was scheduled to start tonight’s contest. Instead, Matt Bush will be taking the ball in what will be an emergency bullpen game.
It’s unclear if the players have tested positive or instead have landed on the shelf due to a close contact or the presence of symptoms. Without a positive test, there’s no minimum stay on the IL. But in the case of a positive test, MLB’s 2022 health regulations stipulate a 10-day absence, though a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a trio of medical professionals (team doctor, league-appointed doctor, MLBPA-appointed doctor) can override that 10-day requirement. The club is starting a stretch of playing ten days in a row, meaning they may need to think about Otto’s next turn through the rotation as well.
The fact that Miller and Tinoco have been announced as “replacement players” is significant. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, commissioner Rob Manfred has sole discretion to decide whether a team’s COVID situation is significant enough to warrant such a designation. It seems that he has done so in this case. That means that Miller and Tinoco can be removed from the team’s 40-man roster at a later date without being subject to waivers.
For Garver, this will be another speed bump in a season that has had a couple of them. After going on the injured list due to a flexor strain, he returned in late May but was acting exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that, due to the injury limited Garver’s throwing ability, the club intended to continue putting his bat in the lineup but didn’t plan on letting him resume catching duties anytime soon, possibly for the entire season. Now on the IL, he won’t even be able to take on that limited role for the time being.
Rangers Sign Yohel Pozo, Three Others To Minor League Deals
The Rangers have re-signed catchers Yohel Pozo and David Garcia to minor league contracts, tweets Rangers Executive VP of Communications John Blake. Additionally, Blake reports that minor league free agents Meibrys Viloria, a catcher, and right-handed pitcher Jesus Tinoco have been signed as well. All four players have received invitations to Spring Training. The deals were announced last night, before the lockout and transaction freeze.
Pozo is the highest profile member of the bunch after seeing 21 games of action with Texas last season. He, along with Garcia, were non-tender casualties yesterday so that Texas could make room for their bevy of recent free agent signings. The Rangers will be happy to have the 24-year-old Pozo back after he posted a uniquely incredible season at Triple-A Round Rock. In 77 games the catcher reached base via walk just seven times (2.2% walk rate), but struck out a stingy 42 times (13% strikeout rate). Contact-oriented approaches are seldom this extreme, but Pozo made it work as he slashed .337/.352/.622 with 23 home runs before his Major League promotion.
The 21-year-old Garcia returns to Texas after posting a .647 OPS at the High-A level last season. That tepid showing notwithstanding, the Rangers organization clearly holds the young catcher in high regard. This was evidenced last year, as the team protected him from the Rule 5 draft despite never playing a game above the Low-A level.
Viloria joins a new organization after spending his professional career up to this point with the Royals organization. The 24-year-old catcher saw limited action on Major League Royals squads from 2018-2020, but was held in the upper minors this past season and produced a decent .752 OPS. Tinoco meanwhile has seen most of his action from the Rockies organization, most recently pitching 54 innings of 6.00 ERA ball at Triple-A.
Rockies Select Jesus Tinoco
The Rockies announced they’ve placed right-hander Chi Chi González on the COVID-19 injured list. To take his spot on the active and 40-man rosters, Colorado selected righty Jesús Tinoco. Colorado also reinstated Jhoulys Chacín from the COVID list and optioned Justin Lawrence.
Tinoco tossed 44 2/3 innings of relief from 2019-20 between Colorado and Miami. Over that time, he worked to a 4.03 ERA but didn’t manage especially promising peripherals. Tinoco has struck out just 17.6% of opposing hitters at the highest level while walking a too-high 15% of batters faced.
Colorado passed Tinoco through outright waivers last offseason. He’s spent the entire year with Triple-A Albuquerque, tossing 33 2/3 frames of 7.75 ERA ball. Because Tinoco was selected as a COVID replacement, he can be returned to Triple-A without being placed on waivers upon another player’s reinstatement from the COVID IL.
Outrighted: Tinoco, Speier
The latest outrights from around the majors…
- The Rockies have outrighted right-hander Jesus Tinoco, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The club designated Tinoco for assignment last week, but he cleared waivers after that. Now 25 years old, Tinoco first joined the Rockies as part of the return they received from the Blue Jays in the teams’ 2015 Troy Tulowitzki trade. Tinoco made his major league debut in 2019, but the Rockies traded him to the Marlins this past summer, only to re-acquire him via waivers three weeks later. He owns a 4.03 ERA (with a much less appealing 7.19 FIP) with 6.85 K/9 and 5.84 BB/9 across 44 2/3 big league innings.
- The Royals announced that they have outrighted southpaw Gabe Speier, whom they designated last week. Speier, 25, appeared in the majors in each of the previous two seasons and combined for a 7.62 ERA/6.05 FIP and 11.08 K/9 against 6.92 BB/9 over 13 frames.