Rangers Rumors

Checking In On The Worst Rotations Of 2018

By Connor Byrne | February 10, 2019 at 1:01pm CDT

Last Sunday, we took a look at the improvements (or lack thereof) the worst bullpens of the 2018 major league season have made since the winter began. Today’s edition will focus on the sorriest rotations from 2018, when the starting staffs of the Orioles, Rangers, Blue Jays, Padres and White Sox posted ERAs upward of 5.00. Those teams also fared poorly in terms of fWAR, unsurprisingly, with the Orioles, Rangers, Padres and White Sox joining the Reds to make up the majors’ bottom five in that department. Even though spring training is set to open across the league, there are still some quality starters remaining in free agency, so it’s possible these teams aren’t done yet. For now, though, most of these staffs leave much to be desired heading into the new season.

White Sox (2018 fWAR: 30th; 2018 ERA: 26th; projected 2019 rotation via Roster Resource): Last year’s White Sox received 30-plus starts from each of James Shields, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito, but only Lopez managed adequate production. He and Giolito, two former high-end prospects, will once again take up 40 percent of Chicago’s rotation this season, while Shields is currently without a job. Carlos Rodon is also back as one of the team’s most proven starters, albeit after disappointing over 20 appearances in 2018. At least one newcomer – righty Ivan Nova, acquired from the Pirates in December – will slot in near the top of their staff, and fellow offseason pickup Manny Banuelos could join him in the starting five. The 32-year-old Nova isn’t going to wow anyone, but he’s a perfectly cromulent major league starter, having recorded ERAs in the low-4.00s and thrown 160-plus frames in each of the past three seasons. The 27-year-old Banuelos – a trade pickup from the Dodgers – is a former big-time prospect, but the lefty hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015, when he totaled the only six starts of his career as a member of the Braves.

Given the lack of major league success Giolito, Banuelos, and depth options Dylan Covey and Carson Fulmer have experienced, the White Sox would be well served to land more rotation possibilities before the season. Their situation would look a lot better if not for the Tommy John surgery prized prospect Michael Kopech underwent last September. He’ll miss the entire season as a result, though Chicago could get its first look at its No. 2 pitching prospect, Dylan Cease, this year.

Orioles (2018 fWAR: 29th; 2018 ERA: 30th; projected 2019 rotation): Thanks in part to a less-than-stellar rotation, this is going to be the second ugly season in a row for the rebuilding Orioles. Internal improvement is possible, though, as returning starters Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner have all shown themselves capable of providing much better numbers than the production they registered over a combined 87 starts in 2018. Inexpensive free-agent signing Nate Karns is also a bounce-back candidate after sitting out most of 2017 and all of ’18 as he recovered from the dreaded thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Aside from those four – any of whom could end up on the block during the season – no starting option on the Orioles’ 40-man roster has achieved success in the majors. Moreover, their farm system isn’t teeming with hurlers who are in line to make MLB impacts this season. With that in mind, rookie general manager Mike Elias may still be scouring the free-agent market for another cheap stopgap(s) after inking Karns earlier this week.

Padres (2018 fWAR: 28th; 2018 ERA: 27th; projected 2019 rotation): The Padres shrewdly signed former Angel Garrett Richards, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, back in November. But Richards won’t return until later in the season, if he pitches at all in 2019. Other than Richards, the Padres haven’t picked up any starters of note this winter. It hasn’t been for lack of effort, though, as they’ve been connected to the likes of Noah Syndergaard, Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, Marcus Stroman and Mike Leake, among others, in the rumor mill during recent months. Syndergaard and Kluber probably aren’t going anywhere, but Keuchel remains available in free agency and both Stroman and Leake could still be trade candidates. Having failed to secure anyone from that group, the Padres continue to possess an underwhelming rotation – one that received a combined 49 starts from the now-departed duo of Clayton Richard and Tyson Ross last season. However, Chris Paddack and Logan Allen, top-100 prospects and a couple of the many prizes in a San Diego system laden with talent, may debut sometime this year.

Rangers (2018 fWAR: 27th; 2018 ERA: 29th; projected 2019 rotation): Of the seven Rangers who accrued the most starts in 2018, only one – lefty Mike Minor – remains. Fortunately for Texas, Minor was easily the best member of the club’s subpar septet. He’s now part of a completely remade starting staff which has reeled in Lance Lynn (three years, $30MM) and Shelby Miller (one year, $2MM) in free agency and Drew Smyly via trade with the Cubs. The team also has 2018 signing Edinson Volquez returning after he missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In all, it’s not the most compelling quintet, and it’s anyone’s guess what Miller, Smyly and Volquez will offer after their recent injury-wrecked seasons, but all five have at least shown flashes in the majors.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old Lynn has been effective and durable for most of his career; Miller’s a former star prospect who prevented runs at an excellent clip from 2014-16; Smyly generally impressed as a starter over the same three-year span as Miller; and Volquez has five seasons of 170-plus frames under his belt. Meanwhile, other than newly added minor league signing Jason Hammel, the Rangers’ depth options have virtually no major league accomplishments. A few of their top-10 prospects – Jonathan Hernandez, Taylor Hearn and Joe Palumbo – are climbing up the minor league ladder and could be in Arlington soon, however.

Reds (2018 fWAR: 26th; 2018 ERA: 25th; projected 2019 rotation): The Reds boasted a mostly healthy rotation in 2018, as six pitchers each made at least 20 starts, but no one was particularly good. Consequently, the Reds have acquired three proven MLB starters in various trades this offseason, having picked up Sonny Gray from the Yankees, Alex Wood from the Dodgers and Tanner Roark from the Nationals. There isn’t an ace among the trio, but all three are credible major league starters – which the Reds desperately needed, especially considering Matt Harvey walked in free agency. High-potential holdovers Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani, who have been inconsistent in the majors, will comprise the rest of Cincinnati’s upgraded rotation to begin the season. The Reds’ new additions will push 2018 regulars Sal Romano (25 starts of 5.48 ERA/5.10 FIP ball) and Tyler Mahle (23 starts, 4.98 ERA/5.25 FIP) into depth roles, which is a plus, as is the end of the Homer Bailey era. The Reds sent Bailey and the remains of his bloated contract to the Dodgers when they traded for Wood and outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp in a blockbuster December deal. Bailey produced catastrophic results from 2017-18, a 38-start, 197 1/3-inning span in which he mustered a 6.25 ERA.

Blue Jays (2018 fWAR: 22nd; 2018 ERA: 28th; projected 2019 rotation): The Blue Jays’ rotation handily outdid the above teams’ by fWAR last year, yet the unit still compiled the majors’ third-worst ERA. Toronto has since made modest acquisitions by trading for Richard and signing Matt Shoemaker (one year, $3.5MM). They’ll serve as placeholders for a Jays team which is at least another full year away from vying for a playoff spot, and may listen to offers for its top two starters – Stroman and Aaron Sanchez – during the upcoming season. Both Stroman and Sanchez have been outstanding at times, but that wasn’t true of either in 2018, and the two are now entering their second-last seasons of team control. Stroman and Sanchez remain atop Toronto’s rotation for the time being, with all parties hoping the righties return to their past productive and healthy ways in 2019. Beyond those two, Richard, Shoemaker and Ryan Borucki, the Blue Jays don’t possess any starters who have done much in the majors, though Sam Gaviglio (37 starts), Sean Reid-Foley (seven) and Thomas Pannone (six) have at least gained some experience.

Rangers Sign Hunter Pence To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 7, 2019 at 3:04pm CDT

3:04pm: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Pence’s deal has a $2MM base salary and another $1.25MM worth of incentives available to him

2:44pm: The Rangers announced Thursday that they’ve signed outfielder Hunter Pence to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Pence, a native of Fort Worth who attended high school in Arlington. The team also confirmed its previously reported signing of corner infielder/pitcher Matt Davidson.

Pence, 36 in April, was long one of the game’s more productive right fielders but has seen his production at the plate wane over the past two seasons. Dating back to the 2017 season, he’s mustered just a .249/.297/.368 slash with 17 homers, 24 doubles and six triples in 792 plate appearances with the Giants. He’ll look to rediscover some semblance of his peak form — .282/.341/.463 from 2011-16 — in his new deal with Texas. The veteran has been open about the work he’s been doing to make alterations to his swing in an effort to bounce back at the plate.

The Rangers currently have Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields Jr. and Nomar Mazara lined up around the outfield, with Shin-Soo Choo slotted in at designated hitter and prospect Willie Calhoun looming as an option in left field and at DH. Pence, though, could plausibly compete for a bench job given the uncertainty beyond the Rangers’ starting lineup. At the moment, one of Jeff Mathis or Isiah Kiner-Falefa (whichever isn’t catching that day) is the only real lock for a bench spot with the Rangers. Calhoun, infielder Patrick Wisdom and center fielder Carlos Tocci all figure to compete for a reserve gig as well, though all have minor league options remaining.

Orioles, Rangers, Astros Have Recently Scouted Yolbert Sanchez

By Steve Adams | February 5, 2019 at 7:22pm CDT

As of today, 21-year-old Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez is formally cleared to sign with Major League clubs. Sanchez, who recently left Cuba and has since been living and working out in the Dominican Republic, emerged as the most touted talent on the international free-agent market in late January when it was first reported that he’d be cleared to sign on this day.

At present, the Orioles and their near-$6MM signing pool are the runaway leaders in terms of pool money available. The Dodgers’ $1.4MM remaining pool is the next largest, though teams are still allowed to trade international funds between now and the close of the current signing period on June 15.

According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, the Orioles recently sent new general manager Mike Elias and a contingent of evaluators to the Dominican Republic to scout the newly available shortstop. The O’s aren’t the only ones who’ve seen him, however, as the report also indicates that Rangers president of baseball ops Jon Daniels and Astros president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow were both in the Dominican Republic recently to scout Sanchez in person. Houston can’t offer Sanchez more than $300K until the next signing period begins on July 2, though Texas can trade for additional funds on top of the $850K the organization currently has in its pool.

The point regarding the next signing period is a key distinction, particularly given that Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tweeted today that Sanchez’s camp has told interested teams that one club has already put forth an offer of $2MM if he’s willing to wait until the 2019-20 signing period begins. That could be a negotiation tactic, though it’s common for teams to have verbal agreements with international free agents in place well in advance of the signing period’s commencement, and Sanchez is surely a know commodity to other clubs throughout the league.

Sanchez isn’t necessarily considered an elite prospect, but he’ll turn 22 in March and, as such, could be closer to the Majors than most amateurs available in international free agency. Longenhagen and colleague Kiley McDaniel wrote at the time they reported Sanchez’s impending availability to MLB clubs that his glove, speed and throwing arm all draw above-average to plus ratings from scouts. His offensive upside, however, is not as universally agreed upon.

Sanchez appeared in 128 appeared across parts of three seasons in the Cuban National Series before leaving the island in 2018 and batted a combined .297/.338/.345 through 435 plate appearances. Sanchez homered just once in that span, although the majority of his plate appearances came as a teenager and he struck out at just an 8.7 percent clip.

Rangers To Re-Sign Ricardo Rodriguez

By Jeff Todd | February 5, 2019 at 8:19am CDT

The Rangers have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Ricardo Rodriguez, according to Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Whether he’ll receive a MLB spring invite isn’t yet known.

Rodriguez was dropped from the 40-man roster last fall after an injury-limited campaign. Arm troubles aren’t a new phenomenon for the 26-year-old, who sat out the 2016 campaign owing to Tommy John surgery and has only once completed a campaign with more than 47 total innings.

Despite boasting a mid-nineties heater to work off of, Rodriguez has failed to generate many swings and misses over his twenty MLB appearances. He carries an anemic 6.8% swinging-strike rate in that stretch. Perhaps there’s more in the tank in that regard, as Rodriguez has compiled 287 strikeouts in 292 1/3 career minor-league innings. His most notable skill as a prospect, though, has been the ability to limit the long ball. Rodriguez has allowed just a dozen dingers in his seven years in the minors.

Rangers To Sign David Carpenter

By Jeff Todd | February 4, 2019 at 7:10pm CDT

The Rangers have agreed to a contract with right-handed reliever David Carpenter, Driveline Baseball’s Kyle Boddy announced on Twitter. Details of the contract are unknown at this time, but it seems fair to assume it’s a minor-league arrangement.

There was a time when we ran quite a few posts involving David Carpenter, inevitably spurring the question: which one? Two right-handed relievers by the same name both appeared concurrently in the big leagues (and both played with the Braves, albeit not at the same time).

The Carpenter who’s now headed to Texas is the more accomplished of the two. (Here’s the B-Ref page for the other.) In his five years in the majors, he worked to a 3.66 ERA over 211 1/3 frames. At his best, Carpenter was dominant. He peaked in 2013, with a 1.78 ERA and 10.1 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 over 65 2/3 innings.

Now 33 years old, Carpenter hasn’t seen the majors since 2015. With health issues playing a role, he ended up receiving only minimal Triple-A opportunities over ensuing two seasons and scuffled badly in the upper minors. Carpenter was able to turn in 37 2/3 productive indy ball frames in 2017, but obviously wasn’t drawing much interest from affiliated organizations.

Carpenter has been working with Driveline to revive his career. His personal Twitter feed shows some of the progress and changes he has made, including the addition of a splitter. It’ll be interesting to see whether he’s able to earn a shot at some point with the Rangers, who should have ample opportunity even after adding several relievers this winter.

Rangers, Matt Davidson Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2019 at 2:35pm CDT

The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with corner infielder Matt Davidson, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’ll presumably head to Major League Spring Training, and, interestingly, will work as both an infielder and a pitcher with his new organization, according to Passan. Davidson is represented by MVP Sports.

Davidson, 28 in March, more than doubled his career walk rate last season, walking in 10.5 percent of his plate appearances after doing so at only a 4.3 percent pace in 2017. That increase in plate discipline came at the expense of some of Davidson’s power, though, and strikeouts remained a severe issue (33.3 percent). Overall, he hit .228/.319/.419 with 20 home runs in 496 plate appearances last year and has 46 home runs in his past 939 PAs. He’s primarily been a corner infielder and, if he makes the MLB roster, would give the Rangers a right-handed bat to back up at first base, third base and designated hitter.

On the pitching side of the equation, Davidson is obviously even more of a work in progress. To his credit, though, he tossed three shutout innings of relief last season with a pair of strikeouts, one hit and one walk allowed. Davidson’s fastball sat at only 90 mph in that tiny sample, though one would imagine that with greater focus on pitching, that number could trend upwards.

Rangers Sign Jason Hammel To Minor League Contract

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2019 at 2:09pm CDT

The Rangers announced Friday that they’ve signed veteran right-hander Jason Hammel to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Hammel is represented by ACES.

Hammel wrapped up an ill-fated two-year, $16MM contract with the Royals this past season and will head to the Rangers in search of a rebound on the heels of two of his worst big league seasons. As a Royal, Hammel struggled to a 5.59 ERA in 307 1/3 innings, averaging 6.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 with below-average ground-ball tendencies. Fielding-independent metrics felt he was marginally better (4.44 FIP, 4.95 xFIP), but the overall results were a far cry from the strong work turned in by Hammel from 2014-16 between the Cubs and the Athletics. Over those three years, Hammel logged a 3.68 ERA with 474 strikeouts against 173 alks in 513 2/3 innings.

The addition of Hammel is the latest depth move for a Rangers organization that has prioritized stockpiling inexpensive rotation pieces for much of the offseason. As was the case last winter, Texas made a three-year signing — this year it was Lance Lynn for $30MM; last offseason it was Mike Minor for $28MM — followed by a series of smaller-scale additions. Texas has added Drew Smyly and Shelby Miller to the rotation picture, too, and selected the contract of veteran Edinson Volquez to the Major League roster. (Volquez had previously signed a two-year minor league contract as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.)

Giants Claim John Andreoli, Designate Derek Law

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2019 at 2:06pm CDT

The Giants announced Friday that they have claimed outfielder John Andreoli off waivers from the Rangers. Texas designated him for assignment earlier this week after signing Shawn Kelley to a one-year contract. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Andreoli, the Giants designated right-hander Derek Law for assignment.

Andreoli split the 2018 season between the Orioles and the Mariners, posting a combined .230/.284/.262 slash in a tiny sample of 67 plate appearances. He has a strong track record of getting on base in the upper minors, as evidenced by his .264/.371/.408 batting line in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances, and he’s knocked 34 homers, 83 doubles and 26 triples in that time while also collecting 121 steals. He’ll give the Giants a much needed outfield option, although with San Francisco reportedly on the hunt for additional veteran outfielders, it’s far from a guarantee that Andreoli will factor prominently into the organization’s 2019 plans.

As for Law, the 28-year-old burst onto the scene with a dominant rookie campaign in 2016 but has failed to approximate that year’s success in two subsequent efforts. Law was dominant as a rookie, recording a 2.13 ERA with a 50-to-9 K/BB ratio and a 50.3 percent ground-ball rate in 55 innings out of Bruce Bochy’s bullpen. Fielding-independent metrics largely supported that emphatic announcement of his arrival in the Majors, with FIP (2.53), xFIP (3.12) and SIERA (3.00) all concurring on his excellence.

Since that time, however, Law has been torched for a 5.68 ERA in 50 2/3 MLB frames. While his strikeout rate has remained constant, his 3.9 BB/9 mark over the past two seasons is two and a half times higher than his 1.5 mark as a rookie. His ground-ball rate, meanwhile, plummeted by more than 10 percent, with his home-run rate experiencing a corresponding spike. Law’s fastball velocity hasn’t depreciated, so perhaps another club will look at him as an intriguing bullpen reclamation project. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that picks him up (be it via trade or waivers) will need to carry him onto the Opening Day roster or else expose him to waivers.

Rangers Designate John Andreoli For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 29, 2019 at 6:33pm CDT

The Rangers announced that they’ve designated outfielder John Andreoli for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Shawn Kelley, whose one-year deal with the team is now official. Texas had claimed the 28-year-old Andreoli off waivers just two weeks ago.

This past season in Triple-A was one of his best, as Andreoli got on base at a robust .397 clip in 388 PAs with the Seattle organization. He has experience playing all three outfield positions and has minor league options remaining, although this is also the fourth time he’s lost a 40-man roster spot since mid-August.

Rangers Sign Shawn Kelley

By Steve Adams | January 29, 2019 at 6:28pm CDT

Jan. 29: The Rangers have formally announced the signing. Heyman tweets that Kelley will earn an extra $62,500 for reaching his 50th, 55th, 60th and 65th appearance in both seasons of the contract. It’s worth pointing out that Kelley has only appeared in 60 games once in his career, so the top end of those incentives could be difficult to achieve.

Jan. 28, 5:55pm: The two sides are in agreement on a one-year contract with a club option for a second season, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that Kelley will earn $2.5MM in 2019, and his 2020 option is also for $2.5MM with a $250K buyout. As such, his total guarantee will be $2.75MM. There are incentives packages in each season that can boost his annual salary to $3MM, and Kelley has already passed his physical, Feinsand adds.

5:49pm: The Rangers are closing in on a contract with free-agent right-hander Shawn Kelley, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Kelley was said late last week to be choosing among three potential suitors as he neared a decision. The veteran reliever is represented by Frye McCann Sports.

Kelley, 35 in April, just wrapped up a three-year, $15MM deal originally signed with the Nationals (though he finished it out in Oakland). In the final season of that pact, Kelley posted a 2.94 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.29 HR/9 and a 30.2 percent grounder rate in 49 innings — his third sub-3.00 ERA in the past four seasons. The interim season was an ugly one, as Kelley limped to a 7.27 ERA in 26 innings as part of a season in which he was hampered by a lower back strain, a trapezius strain and eventually bone chips in his right elbow — each of which sent him to the disabled list.

Texas hasn’t made much in the way of large-scale splashes this offseason, with Lance Lynn’s three-year, $30MM contract and the trade of Jurickson Profar to Oakland standing out as the largest moves to date for president of baseball operations Jon Daniels. However, the Rangers have steadily added a bevy of affordable veteran arms on short-term commitments, with Kelley joining a list that also includes Shelby Miller (one year, $2MM), Drew Smyly (acquired in a trade with the Cubs), Jesse Chavez (two years, $8MM) and Zach McAllister (one year, $1MM). Texas also picked up veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on a one-year pact to help offset the departure of Profar. It’s unlikely that all of those moves will pan out, but the bulk nature of value additions should yield some smaller-scale trade assets for Daniels & Co. this summer.

Kelley will now join Chavez and McAllister as somewhat new additions — Chavez was with the Rangers on a one-year deal last season before being traded to the Cubs, so he’s not all that new to the organization — who will hope to comprise a setup core for electric young reliever Jose Leclerc. Durability will be the chief concern for Kelley, who has never reached 60 innings in a Major League season, but he’s generally been a quality bullpen piece when healthy enough to take the hill.

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