Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Luke Jackson

Rangers Designate Roman Mendez For Assignment

By | at

The Rangers have designated right-hander Roman Mendez for assignment, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Additionally, left-hander Alex Claudio has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and placed on the Major League 60-day disabled list to clear another 40-man roster spot. The Rangers have announced that those roster spots will go to Drew Stubbs and Ross Ohlendorf. Additionally, Joey Gallo and Luke Jackson.

The 25-year-old Mendez has totaled 11 2/3 innings with the Rangers in 2015, working to a sub-par 5.40 ERA with nine strikeouts against seven walks (one intentional). He did enjoy success in 2014, posting an excellent 2.18 ERA over the life of 33 innings, although that strong mark came with underwhelming peripherals. Mendez averaged 6.0 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 last year, benefiting from a minuscule and unsustainable .194 BABIP (to say nothing of a bloated 86 percent strand rate).

Claudio, 23, has a 2.89 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 54.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been slowed by injuries in 2015, but he could potentially be a lefty specialist for Texas in future seasons. He’s held lefties to a .212/.250/.365 batting line over the course of his career, but he’s been roughed up by righties, who have knocked him around at a .273/.359/.473 clip.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

By and | at

Midnight EST is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com lists the notable prospects who are newly Rule 5 eligible. Of course, the decision whether or not to protect a player has as much to do with roster flexibility and his expected ability to stick on a big league roster for a full season as it does the player’s overall prospect value.

We’ll keep tabs on the day’s 40-man additions here, and you can also check Baseball America’s running updates, which includes breakdowns of the players added.

  • The Rays have yet to announce their full list of roster moves, but Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets that second baseman Ryan Brett will be added to the 40-man.
  • Following their trade with the Dodgers, the Rays announced that they have added Brett (as Cooper tweeted), right-hander Matt Andriese, left-hander Grayson Garvin, outfielder Mikie Mahtook and catcher Justin O’Conner to the 40-man roster.
  • The Dodgers announced that lefty Adam Liberatore, acquired in the trade with the Rays, has been added to the 40-man roster.

Earlier Updates

  • The Astros have made one final 40-man roster move, announcing the addition of right-hander Michael Feliz. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper was among those to express surprise that Feliz had not previously been added to the roster, with some executives telling him they’d be shocked if Feliz wasn’t the No. 1 pick in the Rule 5 Draft (Twitter link).
  • The Rangers announced that they’ve added righties Luke Jackson and Jerad Eickhoff, infielder Hanser Alberto and catcher Jorge Alfaro to the 40-man roster.

Read more

Rangers Claim Alex Rios; Trade Unlikely

By | at

FRIDAY: A source involved in the trade talks between the two sides told Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio that the chances of a deal are "smaller than a bread basket."

THURSDAY, 4:51pm: A trade is unlikely to be reached, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Prior to the deadline, the White Sox were interested in lefty Martin Perez, right-hander Luke Jackson and infielder Rougned Odor, and the Rangers aren't keen on giving up those players in a trade for Rios.

3:29pm: The Rangers and White Sox "weren't even close" on an agreement when discussing Rios prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler also tweets that Rios was placed on waivers on Monday, and the deadline to work out a deal for him is tomorrow. That would suggest that Rios was claimed earlier in the week, but the news only broke today.

2:45pm: The Rangers are the team that claimed Rios, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Grant cautions that claiming Rios and actually striking a deal to acquire the 32-year-old are very different things.

12:58pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Alex Rios has been claimed on revocable waivers by an unknown team (Twitter link).

Because he is on revocable waivers, the White Sox have 48 hours to work out a trade with the claiming team or pull him back off waivers.  Chicago could also let the claiming team have Rios for nothing and be content to dump his salary — the very manner in which Chicago acquired Rios from the Blue Jays in 2009 — but that seems unlikely given his .277/.328/.421 batting line. Rios is controlled through 2014 and owed $12.5MM next season with a $13.5MM club option, though each of those salaries will increase by $500K if he is traded.

It seems likely that an American League team was awarded the claim on Rios, as waiver priority at this point in the season is determined by league and record. All 15 AL teams would have the opportunity to claim Rios before an NL team. The Rangers and Pirates were both connected to Rios prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Rangers To Sign Sandwich Pick Jackson

By | at

MONDAY, 9:09pm: The Rangers agreed to sign Jackson for $1.545MM, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 9:34pm: The Rangers have signed Jackson and are set to announce the deal tomorrow, according to ESPN's Keith Law (via Twitter).

THURSDAY, 4:27pm: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the sides have not reached an agreement (Twitter links).

1:27pm: The Rangers agreed to sign supplemental first-rounder Luke Jackson for $1.557MM, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The high school right-hander has a low-90s fastball that can reach 96 mph. Jackson, who had committed to playing for the University of Miami, turns 19 later this month.

MLB recommends a $764K bonus for the 45th overall selection, but Jackson doubled that. He obtains as much as Jake Skole, the player the Rangers drafted 15th overall. Here is the complete list of top 2010 draft picks to sign or agree to deals.

The Rangers, now under new ownership, missed out on first rounder Matt Purke last summer. According to Callis, Purke had a handshake agreement with the Rangers for a $6MM bonus, but MLB didn't allow the deal due to the team's then-uncertain ownership.

Draft Links: Cardinals, Royals, Jackson, Rays

By | at

If this morning's round of draft-related links wasn't enough, here's some more reading material to prepare you for Monday….

  • The Cardinals are targeting left-handed pitching, speed, and power in the draft, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Royals don't quite have an agreement in place with Yasmani Grandal yet, but that Grandal is still the favorite to go fourth overall to Kansas City.
  • Rany Jazayerli outlines why he thinks the Royals' draft positions in recent years have been unlucky.
  • Within Peter Gammons' MLB.com piece on the draft, one National League GM says that after the top three of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Jameson Taillon, "there's virtually no difference between the fourth and 44th picks."
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law tweets that the Brewers, Astros, Marlins, and Yankees are interested in right-hander Luke Jackson, who looks increasingly like a first-round pick.
  • Continuing their three-part preview of Tampa Bay's draft, DRaysBay examines some players the Rays could target with their first few picks.
  • Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere runs down the latest draft buzz he's heard and updates his predictions for the first 15 picks.
  • Former Athletic Scott Hatteberg is helping out with the club's draft preparation, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top