Josh Sborz Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Will Miss First 2-3 Months Of 2025 Season
The Rangers announced yesterday that they’d avoided arbitration with reliever Josh Sborz, as the two sides agreed to a one-year, $1.1MM contract for the 2025 season. However, the right-hander is going to miss a big chunk of the season after recently undergoing a shoulder debridement surgery, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports (X link). Sborz is expected to miss the first two or three months of the 2025 campaign while recovering.
It isn’t surprising that Sborz went under the knife, as an ailing shoulder limited him to only 16 1/3 innings and 17 appearances out of the Texas bullpen last year. Sborz was sent to the injured list four separate times — twice due to a right rotator cuff strain, and then twice due to fatigue in that same shoulder. He pitched just once after August 7, and he told Grant at the end of the season that he was going to consult Dr. Neal ElAttrache to try and “get clarity” about the root of his shoulder issues.
Sborz earned a $1.025MM salary in 2024, and was projected to get just a slight bump up to a $1.3MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility. Undoubtedly the surgery was a factor in Sborz agreeing to an even more minimal raise, though the agreement does give him some contractual piece of mind as he can now focus on a lengthy rehab process. The Rangers probably at least thought about non-tendering Sborz in the wake of the surgery, yet $1.1MM isn’t a huge amount of money to invest, plus Sborz is also arb-controlled through the 2026 season.
Sborz (who turns 31 in December) has pitched in parts of the last six MLB seasons, breaking into the Show with the Dodgers in 2019 before the Rangers acquired him prior to the 2021 season. He posted a 3.97 ERA over 59 innings with Texas in 2021, though elbow problems factored into a 6.45 ERA over only 22 1/3 frames in 2022, and Sborz also had a 5.50 ERA in 52 1/3 innings in 2023.
It adds up to a 4.86 ERA over his time in Arlington, though with a much more impressive 3.46 SIERA. Sborz’s numbers are somewhat inflated by his issues keeping the ball in the park, as well as some unfortunate batted-ball luck (primarily a .396 BABIP during that rough 2022 season). A 10% walk rate also hasn’t helped, but Sborz has missed a good number of bats, as indicated by his 28.7% strikeout rate. The 2023 season was particularly inconsistent for Sborz, though he got on track when the Rangers needed him most — Sborz had an 0.75 ERA in 12 playoff innings to help Texas secure the World Series title.
Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc, Jose Urena, and Andrew Chafin are all free agents, so rebuilding the bullpen is a priority for the Rangers this winter. Retaining a familiar face in Sborz will add one piece to the puzzle, even if it’ll be a while before Sborz is able to make his 2025 debut.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/22/24
The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.
These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.
Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.
All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day/evening as deals are announced and/or reported.
- The Mets announced that they have agreed to a one-year contract with right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, though salary figures have not yet been reported. He was projected for a $900K salary next year after posting a 1.66 ERA but in just 21 2/3 innings due to injury.
- The Rangers announced they avoided arbitration with right-hander Josh Sborz, who was projected for a $1.3MM salary next year. He’ll come in just shy of that at $1.1MM, per Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today (X link). He underwent a shoulder debridement procedure recently, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) and will likely miss the first two or three months of 2025.
- The Tigers and infielder Andy Ibanez have agreed to a salary of $1.4MM next year, per Francys Romero (X link). That’s a shade below his $1.5MM projection. Ibanez hit .241/.295/.357 in 99 games for the Tigers in 2024.
- The Guardians avoided arbitration with right-hander Ben Lively, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (X link). He’ll make $2.25MM next year, below his $3.2MM projection. Lively had a 3.81 ERA in 151 innings for the Guards this year.
- The Cubs and right-hander Julian Merryweather have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $1.225MM, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). That’s just shy of his $1.3MM projection. Merryweather had a 6.60 ERA in 2024 but was injured most of the time and only made 15 appearances. He had a solid 3.38 ERA the year prior in 72 innings. The Cubs also agreed to terms with catcher Matt Thaiss and righty Keegan Thompson, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (X link), though salary figures have not yet been reported.
- The Blue Jays got a deal done with right-hander Erik Swanson, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet on X. The righty was projected for $3.2MM next year but will make a smidge less than that, with Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (X link) relaying that Swanson will make $3MM. He had a 5.03 ERA in 2024 but was at 2.97 the year prior and also finished this year strong, with a 2.55 ERA in the second half.
- The Yankees reached agreement with center fielder Trent Grisham on a $5MM salary, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN (on X). The deal contains another $250K in incentives. The two-time Gold Glove winner had been projected at $5.7MM. Grisham had an underwhelming .190/.290/.385 showing during his first season in the Bronx. The Yankees will nevertheless keep him around for his final year of arbitration, presumably in a fourth outfield capacity. The Yankees also announced that they have a deal with righty JT Brubaker, though figures haven’t been reported. He was projected for a salary of $2.275MM, the same figure he made in 2023 and 2024, two seasons he missed while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Rockies reached deals with outfielder Sam Hilliard and lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath, Feinsand reports (on X). Hilliard gets $1MM, while Gilbreath signed for $785K. Both figures come in shy of the respective $1.7MM and $900K projections. Hilliard popped 10 home runs over 58 games as a depth outfielder. Gilbreath only made three appearances after missing the entire ’23 season to Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.19 ERA across 43 innings two years ago.
Earlier Agreements
- The Dodgers and right-hander Tony Gonsolin have agreed to a $5.4MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link), an exact match for his projection. He had signed a two-year, $6.65MM deal to cover the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He made 20 starts for the Dodgers in the first year of that pact but he missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Guardians and Sam Hentges have agreed to a $1.337MM deal, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. That’s right in line with his projected $1.4MM salary. The left-hander has been an effective reliever for Cleveland over the past three seasons (2.93 ERA, 2.82 SIERA, 138 IP), but he missed the latter half of 2024 with a shoulder injury. After undergoing surgery in September, he will miss the entire 2025 season.
- The Orioles and infielder Emmanuel Rivera agreed to a $1MM deal, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’d been projected at $1.4MM. He hit .238/.312/.343 this year.
- Right-hander Brock Stewart and the Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth $870K, MLBTR has learned. He’d been projected at $800K. Stewart, who missed much of the season due to injury, can earn another $30K via incentives. He’s been lights-out for the Twins when healthy over the past two seasons (2.28 ERA, 33.5 K%, 10.8 BB%). Minnesota and righty Michael Tonkin also agreed to a $1MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’d been projected at $1.5MM. The Twins later announced that they had reached deals with Stewart, Tonkin and righty Justin Topa. Hewas projected for $1.3MM next year but will come in just shy of that in terms of guarantee. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune (Bluesky link), it’s a $1.225MM guarantee in the form of a $1MM salary and then a $225K buyout on a $2MM club option for 2026.
- The Padres and Tyler Wade agreed to a one-year deal worth $900K, Heyman tweets. There’s a club option for an additional season. Wade, who hit .217/.285/.239 in 2024, was projected for that same $900K figure.
- Infielder Santiago Espinal and the Reds settled on a one-year deal at $2.4MM, Heyman tweets. That’s well shy of his $4MM projection and actually represents a slight pay cut after Espinal hit .246/.295/.356 for Cincinnati.
- The Rangers and righty Dane Dunning agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.66MM, Heyman reports. It’s a 19% cut after Dunning struggled to a 5.31 ERA in 95 innings this past season. He was projected at $4.4MM.
- The Giants and right-hander Austin Warren agreed to terms on a one-year deal, reports Justice de los Santos of the San Jose Mercury News. He missed most of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned late with 10 2/3 innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve signed catcher/outfielder Eric Haase to a one-year deal for the upcoming season. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that the deal guarantees Haase $1.35MM with the chance to earn more via incentives. He’d been projected for a $1.8MM salary. Haase will fill the backup catcher role in Milwaukee next season. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.
- The Dodgers and right-hander Dustin May settled at $2.135MM, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X link). That’s the exact same salary he had in 2024. May will be looking to bounce back after spending all of this year on the injured list.
- The Phillies and right-hander José Ruiz settled at $1.225MM, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). That’s slightly above his $1.2MM projection. The righty can also unlock a $20K bonus for pitching in 30 games and $25K for pitching in 40. He made 52 appearances for the Phils in 2024 with a 3.71 ERA. Philadelphia also announced agreement with backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on a one-year deal. The Phils did not reveal the salary figure. Stubbs hit .207 in 54 games this year.
- The Tigers and infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry agreed to a $1.65MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X). That’s slightly ahead of his $1.3MM projection. He hit .215/.277/.337 this year while stealing 16 bases and playing each position except or first base and catcher,
AL West Notes: Alvarez, McCormick, Sborz, Drury
Yordan Alvarez‘s status is the biggest question mark facing the Astros as the postseason begins, but manager Joe Espada said Alvarez will take batting practice tomorrow. “That’s a really good sign. Just the fact that he’s able to hit and rotate and do stuff that a couple days ago I thought he wasn’t going to be able to do in a matter of days,” Espada told reporters, including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
Alvarez hasn’t played since suffering a knee sprain while sliding on September 22, and it seems possible that the Astros might not tip their hand about his availability until Tuesday morning, when they have to release their rosters for their AL Wild Card Series with the Tigers. Waiting until the relative last minute makes it harder for the Tigers to prepare, and it also gives Alvarez and the Astros as much time as possible to evaluate the star slugger’s knee health.
Outfielder Chas McCormick might be another late roster decision, though MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes (X link) that McCormick took live batting practice today and is set for another live BP session tomorrow. McCormick has been sidelined since September 10 due to a fracture in his right hand, but has been able to take part in other baseball activities over the past week.
More from the AL West…
- Recurring shoulder problems sent Josh Sborz to the injured list four different times this season, and limited the Rangers reliever to only 17 games and 16 1/3 innings. Sborz told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that he is going to consult Dr. Neal ElAttrache about the problem, and whether or not surgery could possibly be required. “For me, not having any understanding of it is what’s killing me the most,” Sborz said. “You get hurt, you want to understand it so you can mitigate the risk of it coming back. I’d like to get clarity, but the crappy thing about shoulders is there isn’t a lot of clarity.” Surgery and a lengthy recovery could turn Sborz into a non-tender candidate for the Rangers as he enters his second year of arbitration eligibility, which would be a tough outcome for a pitcher who was a key part of the Texas bullpen during the 2023 postseason. Sborz earned $1.025MM this season, and is due just a minimal raise because of all the time spent on the IL.
- Brandon Drury hit only .169/.242/.228 over 360 plate appearances for the Angels this season, with a 34 wRC+ that was by far the worst of any player in the majors with at least 350 PA. Migraines and some nagging injuries played a role in these struggles, but Drury told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that some swing changes last offseason might’ve been the biggest culprit, as his attempts to add exit velocity backfired badly. It all added up to a rough platform year as Drury enters free agency, and the 32-year-old might have to settle for either a minor league contract or a small guaranteed deal heading into his 11th MLB season. Assuming Drury figures things out with his offseason prep, there’s seemingly some good bounce-back potential, as Drury hit a very solid .263/.313/.493 over 1179 PA from 2021-23.
Rangers Select Matt Duffy, Promote Dustin Harris
The Rangers made a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener in Oakland. Texas selected veteran infielder Matt Duffy onto the roster and recalled outfielder/infielder Dustin Harris for what’ll be his big league debut. The Rangers also activated reliever Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas placed third baseman Josh Jung on the 10-day IL, optioned lefty reliever Walter Pennington and put utilityman Ezequiel Duran on the paternity list. Tyler Mahle moved from the 15-day to the 60-day IL in a procedural move to open a 40-man roster spot for Duffy. Texas had already shut Mahle down on account of shoulder soreness.
The 33-year-old Duffy gets a brief opportunity to return to the majors. Duffy has been in Triple-A since signing a minor league deal in Spring Training. The veteran infielder hasn’t produced much offensively, turning in a .218/.296/.280 slash across 216 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League. Texas was out of healthy infielders on the 40-man roster, though, so they’ll give Duffy a shot to play in the big leagues for a ninth season. He’ll back up Marcus Semien, Josh Smith and Jonathan Ornelas for the final six games of the year. Duffy will be a free agent at the start of the offseason and will be in line for another minor league contract somewhere.
Harris, 25, has a bit of third base experience himself. He has started 12 games there with Triple-A Round Rock this season. He’s primarily an outfielder, logging more than 900 frames between left and center field. The left-handed hitter carries a .272/.358/.391 slash with 10 longballs across 564 trips to the plate. That’s minimal power production for the hitter-friendly PCL, but Harris has stolen 35 bases and has strong plate discipline numbers over his minor league career.
Texas added Harris to their 40-man roster over the 2022-23 offseason. They’ve remained intrigued enough by his physical tools to keep him on the roster even while he was on optional assignment in the minors. Baseball America ranked Harris as the #11 prospect in the system on its midseason update. He could make his MLB debut against the organization that drafted him. Harris was an 11th-round pick by the A’s in 2019. Oakland traded him to the Rangers the following summer in a deadline deal for lefty Mike Minor.
Jung’s season comes to a close because of right wrist discomfort. The All-Star third baseman broke his wrist on a hit-by-pitch in the first week of the season. He underwent surgery that sidelined him until the end of July. Jung hasn’t played up to his 2023 level since returning and he’ll finish the year with a .264/.298/.421 slash in 46 games. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wrote this week that Jung will visit a specialist on Thursday to determine the source of his ongoing discomfort. He’ll hope for a mostly healthy offseason.
Rangers Select Matt Festa, DFA Brock Burke
The Rangers have selected right-hander Matt Festa‘s contract from Triple-A Round Rock, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team has designated left-hander Brock Burke for assignment. In a pair of additional transactions, Texas placed right-hander Josh Sborz on the 15-day IL and recalled left-hander Walter Pennington from Triple-A.
Burke, 28, has struggled mightily this season. After getting off to a rough start in April, he missed two months with a fractured hand. He didn’t look sharp upon his return either, and the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A at the end of June. He was recalled earlier this month and continued to struggle. Overall, he has a 9.22 ERA and 4.30 SIERA in 13 appearances in the majors this season. He also has a 5.31 ERA in 16 appearances at Triple-A. The Rangers have little margin for error as they attempt to gain ground in the AL West, and evidently, they decided they could no longer afford to keep Burke on the roster. He showed tremendous promise in 2022 (1.97 ERA, 3.05 SIERA in 82 1/3 innings), but he has not been able to recapture that success over the past two years.
Festa, 31, does not have much of a track record in the major leagues; he has a 4.66 ERA and 3.96 SIERA over 90 games with the Mariners and Mets from 2018-24. However, he has looked sharp at Triple-A this year, with a 2.70 ERA and 3.10 FIP over 33 games in the Padres, Mets, and Rangers’ systems. He signed a minor league contract with Texas back in July and re-upped with the team after he was released in August.
Sborz, 30, was a postseason hero last fall, but he has, unfortunately, struggled with shoulder injuries in his follow-up campaign. He has a 3.38 ERA and 3.28 SIERA in 16 innings of work, but this is now his third trip to the IL. Pennington, 26, has made two brief appearances this season. He made his MLB debut for the Royals in July, facing two batters and recording two outs. Not long after, he was included in the trade that sent Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City. Pennington made his Rangers debut in August, and the results weren’t quite as strong. He gave up a solo home run and walked three batters over a single inning of work. He has a 2.13 ERA and 3.27 across 63 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year.
The Rangers have taxed their bullpen heavily over the second half of the season as they continue to deal with injuries to the starting rotation. Jon Gray and Max Scherzer both hit the IL just before the trade deadline and, most recently, Nathan Eovaldi has dealt with tightness in his right side. Grant notes that his next start, which would have been scheduled for Thursday against the Twins, will be pushed back or skipped entirely. José Ureña will remain in the rotation for the time being, and Grant suggests Dane Dunning will likely re-join the rotation on Wednesday to fill an open space caused by Saturday’s doubleheader. It is unclear who will start for Texas in Eovaldi’s place on Thursday.
Rangers Notes: Smith, Scherzer, Sborz
Rangers utility man Josh Smith has been one of the club’s most potent offensive players this year, slashing an excellent .294/.384/.436 in 243 trips to the plate while primarily splitting time between third base and shortstop. That performance has been good for an excellent wRC+ of 137, although Smith’s elevated .358 BABIP and relatively pedestrian .311 xwOBA both indicate there may be some good fortune baked into those results.
However lucky Smith’s results may be, it appears that he’s earned himself more playing time going forward. While Smith has found himself sidelined in recent days, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that Smith has been dealing with “general tightness” but that he’s played himself into a regular role with the club when healthy. It’s fairly easy to see why the club would commit more playing time to Smith going forward, as well. After all, that aforementioned 137 wRC+ is ten points ahead of shortstop Corey Seager for the team lead.
What perhaps makes things a little bit more complicated for Smith is that third baseman Josh Jung is on the verge of a rehab assignment and figures to get regular at-bats of his own upon returning to the lineup. With Jung and Seager set to play virtually every day on the left side of the infield, Smith’s most common positions figure to no longer be available to him. Even so, there’s plenty of room for improvement in a Rangers lineup that ranks just 23rd in the majors with a 93 wRC+ this year. Smith has some experience in the outfield, and all four of Evan Carter, Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia, and Leody Taveras have underperformed to varying degrees this year at the plate. That should make it fairly simple to work Smith into the outfield and DH mix on a regular basis, though Grant also suggests that Smith could take some reps at first base over Nathaniel Lowe.
In other Rangers news, veteran ace Max Scherzer threw 79 pitched for Triple-A Round Rock last night, striking out eight batters while allowing three runs across 4 2/3 innings of work. Bochy indicated to reporters (including Josh Kirshenbaum of MLB.com) prior to Scherzer’s start that it could be his final rehab appearance before returning to the majors if all went well. Barring some sort of setback for Scherzer in the aftermath of last night’s start, it appears he could be back in the Rangers rotation later this week.
The veteran right-hander’s return to the majors should offer a huge boost to a Texas club that has dealt with a number of injuries in their starting rotation this year. Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, and Cody Bradford are all currently on the 60-day IL alongside Scherzer, and the club has also spent time without each of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, and Michael Lorenzen due to injury this season. Left-hander Andrew Heaney began the campaign in the bullpen but was almost immediately moved into the rotation due to injuries; upon Scherzer’s return, he and Lorenzen appear to be the most likely candidates to join fellow swing man Jose Urena in the club’s relief corps.
While Scherzer appears to be wrapping up his rehab assignment, another hurler is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment of his own: right-hander Josh Sborz, who has been sidelined since April by a rotator cuff strain. As noted on MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Sborz is set to begin a rehab assignment with Round Rock today. If the righty is nearing a return to the bullpen, he could provide a shot in the arm for a Rangers bullpen that ranks sixth from the bottom among all major league clubs.
Sborz had a 1.69 ERA and 2.96 FIP in seven appearances prior to his placement on the IL this year, and while the righty struggled to a 5.50 ERA in 2023, much of that was due to an unbelievably low 56.2% strand rate. Sborz’s 30.7% strikeout rate, 3.75 FIP, 3.35 xERA, and 3.05 SIERA all point to the righty’s ability to be an impactful relief arm for the Rangers. Texas is currently relying on a combination of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and Jose Leclerc in the late innings.
Rangers Place Josh Sborz On 15-Day Injured List
6:21PM: Two sources tell Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today that Sborz’s strain “isn’t severe,” and there is even some hope that Sborz might only miss the minimum 15 days.
4:38PM: The Rangers announced that right-hander Josh Sborz has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a strain his right rotator cuff. Righty Grant Anderson has been called up from Triple-A to take Sborz’s spot on the roster.
The transaction isn’t a surprise considering how Sborz made an early exit from his appearance in last night’s Astros/Rangers game. Sborz retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth inning, but was then in discomfort after tossing his second pitch to his third batter, and departed the game after consulting with trainers.
Sborz in his fourth season with Texas, beginning with 59 innings of 3.97 ball in 2021. He followed that season up by posting a 5.79 ERA over 74 2/3 frames in 2022-23, though a 3.06 SIERA in that same span makes the case that Sborz has been one of baseball’s more unlucky pitchers of in recent years. Sborz had an unusually low 59.9% strand rate, and he had an unfortunate tendency to allow homers in inopportune times. However, his fortunes turned around at the best possible time, as Sborz had a sterling 0.75 ERA across 12 postseason innings during the Rangers’ World Series championship run last fall.
As such, he entered 2024 as one of the Rangers’ primary high-leverage options in front of closer Jose Leclerc, but Sborz will now miss some time on the IL. The extent of the strain and whether or not surgery could be on the table isn’t yet known, and it is possible Sborz might have avoided anything that would sideline him for an overly lengthy amount of time. This placement represents Sborz’s sixth trip to the IL since the start of the 2022 season, as he has previously missed time due to some elbow problems in 2022, and some relatively less serious hamstring, ankle, and biceps issues last season.
AL West Notes: Scherzer, Rangers, A’s, Schanuel
Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer hasn’t been ruled out for contributing to the Rangers’ postseason push this year despite having suffered a teres major strain earlier this month. Just two weeks after being placed on the IL with the issue, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News noted that Scherzer had worked his way up to throwing a “light” bullpen today. Scherzer wouldn’t put a timeline on his potential return, telling reporters (including Grant) that “If you target dates, you get emotional & then you compete with the injury.”
Scherzer managing to return to the Rangers this postseason would provide a massive boost to the club’s pitching staff, which offers little certainty beyond lefty Jordan Montgomery and veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi without its future Hall of Fame ace fronting the rotation. It’s been an up-and-down year for Scherzer, who’s posted a 3.77 ERA and 4.33 FIP in 152 2/3 innings of work this year. While those numbers are uncharacteristically close to average for the veteran ace, he seemingly flipped a switch upon being traded to Texas. The righty posted a 2.21 ERA and 2.47 FIP in his first six starts with the club with a 33.6% strikeout rate, looking like vintage Scherzer before a pair of injury-shortened starts that preceded his trip to the injured list.
More from around the AL West…
- Sticking with the Rangers, the club activated left-hander Josh Sborz from the 15-day IL today and optioned lefty Jake Latz to Triple-A in a corresponding move. While Sborz sports a well below average 5.80 ERA in 49 2/3 innings of work this year, his peripheral stats indicate a much stronger performance as indicated by his 3.90 FIP, 3.41 xERA, 3.24 xFIP, and 3.11 SIERA. Much of this discrepancy comes from an extremely low 55.3% strand rate combined with an excellent strikeout rate (30.6%), solid walk rate (8.3%), and strong groundball rate (46.8%). If Sborz’s results can improve, he could be a valuable left-handed option out of the club’s bullpen headed into the postseason.
- MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed in an interview with the Associated Press today an earlier report by Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that MLB owners will vote on the Athletics‘ relocation bid during the owners’ meetings, which are scheduled for November 14-16. Akers also notes that the club is expected to announce the architect for the impending stadium prior to that announcement, with that decision expected to come as soon as next month. At least 75% of owners will need to approve the relocation proposal, though that is widely expected to be all but guaranteed.
- Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel has been out of action since fouling a pitch off his knee on Monday, which prompted him to exit the game in the seventh inning. While he’s missed the past two games nursing the injury, manager Phil Nevin indicated to reporters (including MLB.com) that the club was hopeful Schanuel would be able to return to the starting lineup as soon as Friday, following the club’s day off tomorrow. The Angels’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, Schanuel was called up to the big league club just one month after being drafted and has performed admirably in his first taste of both major league and professional pitching this summer, with a .284/.407/.343 slash line that clocks in at 16% better than league average by measure of wRC+. The club has relied on Brandon Drury at first base in Schanuel’s absence.
Rangers Select Ian Kennedy, Designate Glenn Otto For Assignment
The Rangers announced a series of roster moves today, activating right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list and selecting the contract of fellow righty Ian Kennedy. In corresponding moves, righty Josh Sborz was placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain while righty Glenn Otto was designated for assignment.
Kennedy, 38, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and cracked the Opening Day roster. But he was lit up in the early going, allowing a 7.20 earned run average through 11 outings before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency but rejoined the Rangers on a new minor league pact. Since that time, he’s been posting fairly solid results in Triple-A, with a 3.51 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, along with a 29.4% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate.
After many years as an effective big league starter, Kennedy moved to the bullpen in recent years with inconsistent results. He had a 3.41 ERA in 2019 but saw that jump to an even 9.00 in 2020. He got back on track with a 3.20 mark in 2021 but it nudged up to 5.36 last year before this year’s aforementioned struggles.
The Rangers bullpen has been a nightmare of late, a key reason why their previously strong division lead has gone up in smoke. The relievers have let many recent games slip away in the late innings, pushing the club to third place in the division and just half a game ahead of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. For the season as a whole, the relief corps has a collective 4.86 ERA that places them 25th in the league. They will mix things up by getting the veteran Kennedy into the mix to see if he can help.
Otto, 27, got a shot at a rotation job with the Rangers last year, making 27 starts with a 4.64 ERA, 18.2% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate. The Rangers then underwent an extremely aggressive offseason, overhauling their rotation by acquiring pitchers like Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Jake Odorizzi. That would have squeezed Otto either to the minors or the bullpen but he suffered a lat strain in March and was placed on the 60-day injured list on Opening Day.
He was reinstated from the IL at the end of June and has made six appearances for the big league club since then, but six home runs in just 10 2/3 innings have led to an ERA of 10.13. He’s also tossed 29 1/3 Triple-A innings over 10 appearances with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 32.5% of opponents in the process.
Since the trade deadline has passed, the Rangers will have no choice but to put Otto on waivers in the coming days. He’s not too far removed from being a notable prospect. In 2021, he registered a 3.20 ERA over 95 2/3 innings in the minor leagues, going from the Yankees to the Rangers in the Joey Gallo trade that summer. He went into 2022 ranked as the #15 prospect in the Rangers system.
Though he then had some tepid results that year and has been injured for much of this year, he could perhaps garner interest based on that previous prospect status. He still has two option seasons beyond this one and has yet to qualify for arbitration. That means he could be an intriguing depth arm for any club willing to give him a roster spot.
Jonah Heim To Miss At Least 2-3 Weeks With Wrist Strain; Surgery Possible
The Rangers announced that catcher Jonah Heim has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 27, with a left wrist tendon strain. Outfielder Bubba Thompson was recalled to take his place on the roster. The club also swapped a couple of pitchers, with righty Josh Sborz reinstated from the 15-day IL while righty Owen White was optioned to Triple-A. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays that Heim will rest for two to three weeks before seeing if he can play through the pain. If not, he may require season-ending surgery, or that could be pushed to the offseason.
Heim, 28, departed Wednesday’s game with wrist soreness and it appears the issue is serious enough that he’ll sit out a few weeks. There’s still hope of him returning, but being without Heim for any amount of time is surely unwelcome for the Rangers, as he’s been one of the best backstops in the majors this year. He’s already tallied 14 home runs and is slashing .280/.337/.479 for a wRC+ of 123. He’s also been graded as a strong defender, leading to a tally of 3.5 wins above replacement from FanGraphs this year, trailing only Sean Murphy‘s 3.7 among all major league catchers.
In the meantime, the club will rely on a catching tandem of Sam Huff and Mitch Garver. The latter is an above-average hitter but frequent injuries have prevented him from ever playing 105 games in a season and he hasn’t reached 70 games since 2019. He missed two months this year due to a knee sprain and has played 33 games, only donning the tools of ignorance in 13 of those. Huff has only played nine major league games this year, spending most of his time in the minors. But he’s hit well down there, slashing .298/.389/.546 for a 121 wRC+.
The Rangers should be fine with that duo for a while but will likely look for reinforcements of some sort. There are no other catchers on the 40-man roster and Garver’s persistent health issues make him hard to bank on for extended playing time. The trade deadline is now just four days away and midseason trades of catchers are tricky given the challenges of learning a new pitching staff on the fly, but the Rangers might have to try.
Austin Hedges of the Pirates would be an obvious candidate as an impending free agent on a struggling Pirates club, and he has already reportedly drawn trade interest. He’s a poor hitter but is generally considered an excellent defender. The White Sox are busily selling and could move Yasmani Grandal, though he’s making $18.25MM this year. Joey Bart seems to have been leapfrogged by Patrick Bailey and Blake Sabol in San Francisco. He’s in his final option year and will be out of options next year, which perhaps makes him disposable to the Giants in the long-term but useful to the Rangers in the short-term. The Mets are rolling with rookie Francisco Álvarez and could perhaps part with Omar Narváez or Tomás Nido. Victor Caratini is stuck behind William Contreras in Milwaukee and has garnered trade interest. Iván Herrera seems to be blocked in St. Louis by Willson Contreras and Andrew Knizner.
The Rangers have had a big lead in the American League West for much of the season but have recently seen the Astros pull within two games while the Angels, six games back, are aggressively making upgrades. Losing a key player like Heim is a rough development for them but they still have a few days to address it.