The Rangers have selected the contract of right-hander Emiliano Teodo ahead of today’s Rule 5 Draft protection deadline, as first reported by Ari Alexander of KPRC2. The Rangers also announced that they’ve selected the contracts of infielder Max Acosta and right-hander Winston Santos. Texas’s 40-man roster now stands at 39 following the club’s decision to return 2024 Rule 5 Draft pick Carson Coleman to the Yankees.
Teodo, 23, has spent the past fours years in the Rangers system after making his pro debut back in 2021. The righty began his career pitching exclusively in relief but moved into a rotation in 2022. Despite rather pedestrian numbers in the lower minors including a 4.52 ERA in 61 2/3 innings at High-A last year, Teodo impressed in the Arizona Fall League that autumn with eight scoreless relief appearances where he struck out an eye-popping 48.7% of opponents faced. That exciting performance earned the right-hander a job in the Rangers’ Double-A rotation this season, where he has continued to excel. In 86 1/3 innings of work in 2024 spread across 20 appearances (19 starts), Teodo dominated during his first taste of upper minors action to the tune of a 1.98 ERA and a 30.7% strikeout rate with the club’s Frisco affiliate and even started the 2024 Futures Games for the AL.
Despite those fantastic numbers, he’s nonetheless struggled with his control throughout his time in the minors, and that only worsened this year as his walk rate reached an unsustainable 14%. While that’s not a figure that would play in the majors even when paired with a strikeout rate north of 30%, it’s not hard to imagine Teodo’s impressive stuff translating to success at the highest level as soon as 2025 if he were to move back to relief. Given that potential for near-term success in the big leagues, it’s hardly a surprise that the Rangers opted to protect Teodo from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Now that he’s on the 40-man roster, it’s possible he could find himself in the mix for a big league bullpen job at some point in 2025, though it’s also easy to imagine the Rangers deciding to try and iron out the righty’s control problems in hopes he may have a future in the rotation.
Acosta, meanwhile, is a 22-year-old who signed with the Rangers out of Venezuela and made his pro debut in 2021 as well. Primarily a shortstop, Acosta has also played plenty of second base throughout his time in the minors while posting solid but unspectacular offensive numbers. The infielder took a step forward with the bat at Double-A this year, however, slashing a respectable .288/.353/.425 in 104 games. Of particular note is Acosta’s dramatic reduction in strikeout rate, which dropped from 21.1% in 2023 to 13.4% this year. Acosta combines that improved contact ability with strong baserunning skills, as he’s swiped 96 bases over the past three years. That combination of speed and contact ability at a premium position may have been enough to earn Acosta consideration for the club’s 40-man roster already, but he sealed his case by catching fire during the Arizona Fall League this year with a .338/.413/.521 slash line in 80 trips to the plate.
Santos, 22, signed with the Rangers out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut in 2021 alongside Acosta and Teodo. The righty turned in a brutal season at Triple-A last year, surrendering a 6.29 ERA in 98 2/3 innings of work. He managed to turn things around in his second taste of action at the level, however, as he posted a 2.80 ERA and a 30.5% strikeout rate in 12 starts (64 1/3 innings). That performance earned him the bump up to Double-A, where his struggles from the previous year resurfaced in his first taste of the new level. In ten starts, Santos posted a 4.89 ERA while maintaining an impressive 29.5% strikeout rate against a 7.2% walk rate. Santos’s struggles at Double-A came primarily from issues with the long ball, as he surrendered eight homers in just 46 frames. Despite those struggles, Santos’s high strikeout rates seemingly convinced the Rangers to play it safe and roster him rather than run the risk of losing him in next month’s Rule 5 draft.
