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Rangers Reach Streaming Deal With Victory+ For 2025

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The Rangers are planning to announce a streaming agreement for the 2025 season, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The team is set to join Victory+, the provider which also carries the NHL’s Stars. While Stars games are available on the service for free, consumers will need to pay an annual subscription fee to access Rangers contests, Grant writes. Pricing has not been reported.

The organization has been without an in-market broadcasting plan since the end of last season. Its contract with Diamond Sports Group (now known as Main Street Sports), the corporation operating the Bally Sports regional networks, expired at the end of the year. With the company facing questions about its long-term viability even after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Rangers haven’t had interest in negotiating a new agreement. That’s in contrast to the majority of teams that had previously contracted with Main Street Sports. All others have either renegotiated a deal with the regional sports network — presumably for a lesser rights fee — or handed distribution over to Major League Baseball.

Grant suggests this is likely to be the first of multiple steps to expand distribution of Rangers games within the local market. The Dallas Morning-News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have each previously written that the team hopes to essentially build its own RSN by directly negotiating individual deals with various streaming and/or cable providers.

The model could leave the Rangers with some uncertainty about their local broadcast revenues. The team’s contract with Diamond Sports Group reportedly paid around $111MM through 2023. Texas agreed to a lesser fee — reportedly around $90MM — on a restructured deal to stay on Bally Sports Southwest for the ’24 season. It’s not clear how much they anticipate making off their partnership with Victory+ or any additional agreements they may reach in the next two months.

Roki Sasaki Reportedly Informs Several Teams They Are Out Of Running

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3:10pm: The Rangers have also been informed that they are out of the running, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Diamondbacks never got a meeting with Sasaki and won’t be the destination either, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix.

2:56pm: The Mets have also been informed that they are out of the running, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

2:35pm: The Yankees have been told that right-hander Roki Sasaki will not be signing with them, reports Jack Curry of Yes Network. That’s the second team that is reportedly out, with the Giants having also been told that they won’t be Sasaki’s destination. Andy Martino of SNY adds that the Mets aren’t expected to sign him either, though it’s unclear if they have been given a clear denial like the Giants and Yankees. As for teams that are still in the mix, Sasaki reportedly met with the Padres in San Diego recently, per a report from Dennis Lin, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. This was after his recent meeting with the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Sasaki has been on the radar of MLB clubs for years, but his situation became very interesting once it became clear that he would be coming over to North America this winter. Since he is not yet 25 years old, he is considered an amateur under MLB’s international signing rules. That makes a massive difference in his earning power and opens him up to potentially sign with any club.

Per the international bonus pool system, each club has a limit on how much signing bonus money they can give to international amateurs, with this year’s pools ranging from $5-8MM. Broadly speaking, the large-market clubs have the smaller pools and vice versa. Teams can trade for more pool money but can’t add more than 60% of their initial pool allotment.

The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s Nippon Professional Baseball club, will also be owed a posting fee. However, the value of that fee will be a percentage of his signing bonus and won’t be a large number either. Per the NPB posting rules, the fee is 20% of a deal’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of further spending. Since Sasaki will be capped by the pool system, his deal will lead to a modest bonus, with the posting fee adding 20%.

Had Sasaki waited until he turned 25, he would have been considered a professional and could have signed a deal for any amount. That’s the route Yoshinobu Yamamoto took, eventually securing a $325MM deal from the Dodgers.

It can be debated as to who is the better pitcher between Yamamoto and Sasaki, but the point is that there’s tremendous upside in getting Sasaki aboard for such a small investment. Teams that normally don’t sign top free agents can become theoretical fits, while the larger clubs have big payrolls and competitive balance tax concerns, making them very interested as well.

By coming to North America now, Sasaki has seemingly illustrated that maximizing his short-term earnings is not his top priority. Since each club has roughly the same ability to offer him a bonus now, he should be focused on non-financial criteria for making his decision. It could come down to geography, a club’s reputation developing pitching or perhaps a team’s long-term competitive outlook. His agent, Joel Wolfe, said the plan was for teams to make pitches before the holidays. Sasaki would then travel to visit the home cities of certain clubs after the holidays.

A decision needs to come soon. Sasaki can’t officially sign until January 15 when the new pool year starts, but he also has to be signed by January 23, when his posting window closes. Now that there’s only a handful of days left, it seems he is narrowing the field.

The Yankees and Mets both reportedly met with Sasaki in December but it seems that he won’t be coming to New York to join either club. Both teams already have plenty of rotation options, though they surely would have welcomed the problem of adding Sasaki into the mix and further crowding things. The Yankees are already feel good enough about their pitching depth that they are reportedly shopping Marcus Stroman.

Perhaps signing Sasaki wouldn’t have added too much to the urgency to trade Stroman. MLB teams often use six-man rotations when folding in a Japanese pitcher, as the NPB usually sees starters throw once a week as opposed to the five-day rotation in North America. It’s a moot point now but the Yanks still project to start the year with a strong group that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, which is why Stroman’s available.

The Mets have more uncertainty in their rotation but still have plenty of arms to potentially fill out their rotation. Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill are all possibilities. There are question marks with many of those names but that’s eight viable candidates of varying degrees for five rotation spots.

Many observers have considered the Dodgers and the Padres to be the two most likely landing spots, so it’s not especially surprising that San Diego is still in the mix. No one can be sure what Sasaki’s priorities are, but it’s been suggested that the club’s West Coast location and strong performance in recent years are points in their favor, as well as Sasaki’s friendship with Yu Darvish.

As pointed out by The Athletic and others, the Padres could probably use Sasaki more than any other club. They have known financial constraints but plenty of holes to fill, which is why players like Luis Arráez, Dylan Cease, Jake Cronenworth and Robert Suarez have been in trade rumors this winter. Adding a pitcher of Sasaki’s caliber at such a discounted rate would be tremendously helpful for them.

As of right now, the rotation projects to include Darvish, Cease and Michael King, with plenty of question marks beyond that. Adding Sasaki would give the Padres a very strong front four, but it could also perhaps increase the chances of the Friars trading Cease for players that are cheaper and more controllable but less proven.

It’s still anyone’s guess what team will be chosen by Sasaki and why. As mentioned, the Jays are still a possibility, based on Sasaki’s recent trip to Toronto. The Padres are obviously in there as well. The Athletic mentions the Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs and Mariners are clubs that are thought to be in the mix. It’s unknown if Sasaki will visit with any of those other clubs but resolution is coming soon, with more information perhaps trickling out in the coming days.

Cubs Acquire Matt Festa

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The Cubs have acquired right-hander Matt Festa from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced. Festa was designated for assignment by the Rangers earlier this week to accommodate the signing of Chris Martin. To make room for Festa on the 40-man roster, the Cubs have designated utility man Miles Mastrobuoni for assignment.

Festa, 31, was a seventh-round pick by the Mariners back in 2016. The righty looked good during his first cup of coffee at the big league level back in 2018, but a subsequent cameo with the Mariners in 2019 saw him struggle badly with a 5.64 ERA in 20 appearances. That would be his last taste of big league action for a couple of years, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and next pitched for the Mariners during the 2022 season. He was more or less an average middle reliever for Seattle over the next two seasons, with a 4.14 ERA (91 ERA+) and 4.48 FIP in 63 innings of work before he was designated for assignment and eventually released late in the 2023 season.

That led into a one-year period where Festa bounced around a number of different teams in the league. After being picked up on a minor league deal with the Padres last January, Festa did not crack the club’s big league roster out of Spring Training and pitched to a solid but unspectacular 4.50 ERA in 16 innings before San Diego granted him his release in mid-May. He signed with the Mets on a minor league deal just a few days later and was selected to the club’s big league roster in the late June, but found himself torched for five runs (four earned) in his lone inning of work with the club before he was once again cut loose. That led him to sign his third minor league deal of the year, this time with the Rangers, in early July.

After being added to the Rangers roster for the stretch run back in August, Festa pitched solidly enough with a 4.37 ERA (92 ERA+) and a strong 3.34 FIP. He posted some of the best strikeout and walk numbers he’s ever enjoyed at the big league level during his time in Texas as he punched out 25% of opponents while allowing free passes at a 7.6% clip. His peripheral numbers were something of a mixed bag during that time; while his .254 BABIP and 5.9% home-run-to-fly-ball rate both erred on the side of good fortune, Festa’s 54.1% strand rate was extremely low and suggested some bad luck when it came to sequencing.

It was an interesting enough profile for the Rangers to keep him on the 40-man roster early in the winter, but he became expendable once the club added a number of more reliable relief arms to their bullpen throughout the offseason. Now, he’ll head to Chicago with a chance to compete for a role in the Cubs’ bullpen this Spring. Currently, Chicago’s relief corps includes fellow offseason trade addition Eli Morgan, free agent signing Caleb Thielbar, and a handful of internal options such as Porter Hodge, Julian Merryweather, Luke Little, Tyson Miller, and Nate Pearson. It’s a group with plenty of flexibility but few set-in-stone options, and it would hardly be a surprise to see the Cubs continue to search for bullpen upgrades going forward this winter.

To bring Festa into the fold, the Cubs are risking parting ways with Mastrobuoni. The utility man has played adequate defense all over the diamond for Chicago in each of the past two seasons but has failed to establish himself offensively ever since being acquired from the Rays prior to the 2023 season. In 255 trips to the plate with the Cubs in 110 games over the past two years, Mastrobuoni has hit just .221/.282/.268. While his 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts and his ability to play the outfield corners, shortstop, second and third base have helped him provide value outside the batters’ box, that anemic slash line makes it easy to see why the club would decide to move on.

Even without Mastrobuoni in the fold, the Cubs figure to have plenty internal depth available in terms of utility players who can hit from the left side, with recent acquisition Vidal Bruján and Rule 5 Draft selection Gage Workman both currently in the mix for a bench job in 2025. Going forward, Chicago will have one week to either trade Mastrobuoni or place him on waivers. It’s not impossible to imagine a club bringing Mastrobuoni, who has a minor league option remaining, into the fold as optionable depth. Should he clear waivers, the Cubs will have the opportunity to outright him to Triple-A as a non-roster depth option for the 2025 campaign.

MLBTR Podcast: Brent Rooker’s Extension, Gavin Lux, And Catching Up On The Holiday Transactions

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Rangers Could Be Done With Bullpen Additions

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The Rangers have massively overhauled their bullpen this winter, watching Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin depart via free agency while adding Chris Martin, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Robert Garcia and Shawn Armstrong in their stead. It’s a group that has plenty of big league experience but lacks the track record and relative star power of their departed firemen — Yates and Robertson in particular. Be that as it may, this week’s reunion with Martin could be the final piece of the relief puzzle for Texas. General manager Ross Fenstermaker told the Rangers beat in the wake of the Martin deal that the Rangers “feel like we’ve done the bulk of our lifting at this point” (link via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News).

That’s not a firm declaration that the team is done adding. Fenstermaker was careful to leave the door open for “creative” and “open-minded” solutions to further deepen the group. However, adding a seasoned closer is not something the organization feels is a pressing need.

Texas entered the offseason making little secret of the fact that its top priority was to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi — a goal they achieved on a three-year, $75MM deal that exceeded general expectations but reflected the steep price of rotation help on this offseason’s open market. At the same time, the Rangers have been angling for ways to remain under the luxury tax, which helps to explain the decision to trade first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals (in exchange for the aforementioned Garcia). Lowe will be replaced at first base by trade acquisition Jake Burger, who’ll earn scarcely more than the league minimum. His left-handed bat will be largely replaced by free agent signee Joc Pederson.

It’s been a creative roster shuffle — one that’s left the Rangers with a talented but injury-prone rotation, a collection of relievers more accurately described as hopefuls than locks to produce, and a reshaped lineup that the front office is hopeful can be more productive against fastballs (a fatal flaw for the ’24 club).

It stands to reason that further dealings could intensify the roster shuffle. Right-hander Jon Gray, entering the final season of his four-year contract, has been an oft-speculated trade candidate. Trading him would trim $13MM from the payroll and perhaps create the flexibility needed to pursue a reunion with Yates or Robertson — while also leaving some CBT breathing room for in-season trade activity. Moving Gray would naturally thin out the rotation depth, but any of Dane Dunning, Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter or non-roster invitee Adrian Houser could step up to join Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Cody Bradford on the starting staff.

For the time being, it looks like Martin could be the top choice in the ninth inning, but that’ll be left up to manager Bruce Bochy, Fenstermaker emphasized. The GM voiced confidence that Martin could fill the role and acknowledged that he’s in the “candidate pool” but added that the situation will “sort itself out” in the weeks/months ahead. As things stand, RosterResource projects the Rangers about $6MM shy of the $241MM luxury-tax threshold.

Giants Claim Sam Huff, Designate Austin Warren

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The Giants claimed catcher Sam Huff off waivers from the Rangers and designated reliever Austin Warren for assignment in a corresponding move. Both teams have announced their end of the transaction.

Huff, 27 next week, once ranked not just as the Rangers’ top catching prospect but one of the top 100 prospects in the sport. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons now but has played sparingly in recent seasons. He’s appeared in 78 big league games and slashed .258/.313/.455 with 10 homers in 214 plate appearances. It’s quality production overall, but Huff has also benefited from a .353 average on balls in play while fanning in just over one-third of his big league plate appearances.

Huff barely saw the majors last season, in large part due to prolonged struggles in Triple-A. Despite prior success at the top minor league level, he slashed .246/.310/.416 in Round Rock last year. That looks solid enough relative to major league averages, particularly for catchers, but it was 21% worse than league-average (by measure of wRC+) in the hyper-charged offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League. He also struck out in 31.4% of his plate appearances at Triple-A.

There are defensive question marks with Huff as well. Listed at 6’4″ and 240 pounds, he’s one of the largest catchers in the game. He’s drawn poor marks for his framing, blocking and throwing behind the plate, which perhaps isn’t a huge surprise given the rarity with which players of his size can stick behind the dish. The Rangers have also given him time at first base and designated hitter in an effort to get his bat into the lineup more often in Triple-A, but last year’s downturn in production and a lack of minor league options squeezed Huff off the roster in Texas.

The Giants have a fair bit of catching depth already, with starter Patrick Bailey and backups Tom Murphy and Blake Sabol all on the 40-man roster. Huff can’t head to Triple-A due to his lack of minor league options, but he could potentially give San Francisco a third catcher in the majors and a platoon partner for lefty-hitting first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. If not, it’s possible the Giants will eventually designate Huff themselves and attempt to pass him through waivers in an effort to retain him as non-roster depth.

Warren, 28, missed the bulk of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned to toss 10 2/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball down the stretch for the Giants. He agreed to a deal avoiding arbitration earlier this offseason, though per FanGraphs’ Jon Becker, he’ll be guaranteed only the $350K minor league split on that deal in the wake of this DFA.

That split could also make it easier for Warren to clear waivers, at which point the Giants could retain him as non-roster depth. In 48 2/3 innings across parts of four MLB seasons, Warren has a 3.14 ERA with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. The Giants can explore trade possibilities for the next five days but will have to place Warren on waivers if no deal comes together by that point.

Joc Pederson’s Contract Allows Rangers To Override Opt-Out By Exercising 2027 Option

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The Rangers’ two-year, $37MM deal with slugger Joc Pederson was agreed to late last month and announced shortly before the New Year, but it seems full details of the arrangement weren’t made clear at the time. It’s already known that Pederson’s deal contains a mutual option for 2027 and that he can opt out of his contract following the 2025 season. However, the Associated Press reports that the Rangers can override Pederson’s opt-out by exercising that mutual option a year in advance. The contract also contains a no-trade clause, per the AP.

Effectively, if Pederson signals his intent to opt out, the Rangers can veto his return to the open market by agreeing to commit another two years and $37MM. It could become an even pricier commitment for Texas, though, as Pederson’s contract contains escalators that would boost his 2026-27 salaries up to $21.5MM in the event that he wins a Silver Slugger or is named to the All-MLB team (first or second team) at season’s end. That’d mean committing two years and $43MM to Pederson in order to override the opt-out. Paired with his $5.5MM signing bonus and $13MM salary in 2025, Pederson’s contract can max out at a hefty $61.5MM over three years if he turns in a big enough season.

Pederson, 33 in April, has never won a Silver Slugger Award or earned All-MLB honors (dating back to the inception of the All-MLB teams in 2019). He certainly has enough pop in his bat to do so, but his long-running struggles against left-handed pitching have both weighed down his rate stats and likely kept him from accumulating the playing time to mash his way into consideration. Pederson is just a .210/.300/.330 hitter in his career against southpaws, compared to a .246/.349/.494 output against righties. The D-backs afforded him only 42 plate appearances against lefties last year (.219/.405/.344), but Pederson decimated righties with a .281/.392/.531 showing.

Even absent the escalators, the revelations of a no-trade clause and the team’s ability to override Pederson’s opt-out provision are plenty notable on their own. Texas, after all, was willing to commit a guaranteed two years and $37MM to Pederson this offseason. If he performs to expectations, they’ll essentially have the option to make that same commitment for his age-34 and age-35 seasons, which would lock the slugger in as a Ranger through 2027.

It’s also worth pointing out that there’s no scenario where Pederson can opt out and receive a qualifying offer from the team; Pederson already received (and accepted) a qualifying offer from the Giants following his All-Star 2022 season. Players can only receive one qualifying offer in their career. As such, if Pederson triggers his opt-out in November, the Rangers’ choices will be to extend him for another two years or to let him return to the open market with no compensation for his potential departure.

Rangers Sign Chris Martin

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Jan. 7: Martin’s deal with the Rangers guarantees him $5.5MM, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Murray adds that Martin turned down more money from other clubs to return to his hometown club for what’ll be the final season of his career. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox were one team that made a more lucrative offer.

Jan. 6: The Rangers announced the signing of veteran reliever Chris Martin to a one-year deal. Financial terms remain unreported. Martin is represented by ISE Baseball. Texas designated Matt Festa for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Martin, an Arlington native, heads home for what’ll likely be his final season. The 38-year-old righty said in September that he’s 95% confident he’ll retire after 2025. That’s not because of a dip in effectiveness. Martin remains a capable high-leverage arm and is coming off a strong two-year run in Boston.

The Red Sox inked Martin to a $17.5MM free agent deal over the 2022-23 offseason. It was a bit of a gamble considering his age, but the nine-year MLB veteran made good on that investment within one season. Martin turned in a dazzling 1.05 earned run average across 51 1/3 innings in 2023. He earned a couple down-ballot Cy Young votes in the process.

Last season was more good than dominant. Martin worked to a 3.45 ERA while throwing 44 1/3 innings. He had a brief injured list stint related to anxiety in the middle of June. Martin also missed a month with elbow inflammation between early July and the first week of August. He returned with 10 innings and only one earned run over the next couple weeks before allowing six runs in eight September frames.

Martin was almost certainly not going to manage an ERA around 1.00 in consecutive seasons. His strikeout and walk profile actually improved last year. He fanned 27.8% of batters faced after running a 23.1% strikeout rate in 2023. Martin cut his already pristine walk rate from 4% to a career-low 1.7% clip. He’s arguably the best strike-thrower in the majors. No pitcher with at least 100 innings over the last three seasons has issued walks at a lower rate than Martin (2.6%).

Over his two seasons with the Sox, Martin managed a 2.16 ERA across 95 1/3 innings. He has found success at every stop since returning from a stint in Japan between 2016-17. That includes a previous run in Texas. The Rangers were the team that gave Martin a chance during the 2017-18 offseason. He combined for 79 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA ball before being traded to the Braves at the 2019 deadline.

Texas has loaded on up on short-term additions to fix a bullpen that could lose each of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and José Ureña. They’ve signed Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner on one-year contracts worth $2.5MM or less. Texas also brought in southpaw Robert Garcia from Washington in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. While finances on Martin are unreported, it’s fair to assume he’ll be the most expensive of Chris Young’s bullpen acquisitions to this point. Still, there’s limited downside with a one-year deal.

Martin is the most experienced of the Texas relievers. He has worked in a setup capacity throughout his career and has never saved more than four games in a season. It’s unclear if the Rangers plan for him to close or will use him in leverage spots. Yates and Robertson have far more closing experience and are still free agents. Whatever the role, Martin adds much needed stability to a bullpen that might still be the team’s biggest question.

Texas signed Festa, 31, to a minor league deal last season. The Rangers selected his contract in August. He made 18 appearances over the final six weeks, working to a 4.37 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. The righty had made a brief appearance for the Mets earlier in the year. He has spent the bulk of his career with the Mariners, with whom he posted a 4.32 ERA in 89 outings over four seasons. Texas will have five days to trade Festa or place him on waivers.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Acquire Owen White

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The Rangers have traded right-hander Owen White to the Reds in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. The righty had been designated for assignment by Texas last month. The Reds had an open 40-man spot and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

White, 25, was designated for assignment a couple of weeks ago when the Rangers signed Hoby Milner. DFA limbo normally comes with a seven-day maximum but that clock is put on pause over the holidays, so White’s situation resolved at a slower pace than usual.

Though White has struggled recently and lost his roster spot in Texas, it seemed fair that some other club would take a shot on him based on his past prospect pedigree, which has indeed come to pass.

The Rangers initially grabbed him in the second-round of the 2018 draft, though his professional debut was delayed both by Tommy John surgery in 2019 and the pandemic in 2020. He quickly got back on track, however, throwing 115 2/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022, allowing 3.42 earned runs per nine. He struck out 34.1% of opponents and limited walks to a 7.5% clip, getting as high as Double-A in the process.

Going into 2023, he was added to the Rangers’ roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and also found his way onto top 100 lists. Unfortunately, the past two years have been a struggle. He made his major league debut in 2023 but was roughed up, allowing five earned runs in four innings. In his 108 2/3 minor league innings, his 4.22 ERA wasn’t disastrous but he was lucky that number wasn’t worse. He only struck out 17.2% of batters against an 11.9% walk rate. If it weren’t for a low .254 batting average on balls in play, far more runs would have crossed the plate, which is why his 5.96 FIP was far higher than his ERA.

2024 didn’t go much better. He allowed eight earned runs in three major league innings, spiking his career ERA to an unsightly 16.71 at the big league level, though in a tiny sample of seven innings. In Triple-A, he tossed 99 innings with a 5.64 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate.

After two straight years of poor results, it’s understandable why the Rangers nudged him off the roster, but it’s also easy to see why the Reds would take a shot. White was transitioned to a relief role midway through 2024 and saw a bump in his strikeout rate, punching out 25.6% of batters faced over his final 18 innings. He still walked 12.8% of opponents and had a 5.50 ERA in that stretch, but it’s perhaps a good sign that the punchouts came back.

White still has one option year remaining, so the Reds have some time to get a close-up look at him and see how things go, without needing to give him an active roster spot. Considering he is still young and is not too far removed from being one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, it’s a sensible buy-low move to make for what is surely a nominal sum of money in baseball terms. White has just a handful of service days and can be cheaply retained well into the future if he can get things back on track.

Brewers Acquire Grant Anderson

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The Rangers announced they’ve traded reliever Grant Anderson to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Mason Molina. Milwaukee designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Texas had designated the 27-year-old Anderson for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized the Joc Pederson deal. The low-slot righty has made 49 MLB appearances for the Rangers as an up-and-down reliever. His major league work hasn’t been great, as he has allowed 6.35 earned runs per nine over 62 1/3 innings. Anderson’s respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.8%) rates aren’t far off league average. He has had massive home run issues, though, giving up 16 longballs (2.31 per nine innings) in his major league career.

That hasn’t been as big a problem in the minors. Anderson didn’t allow a single homer over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He fanned 28.3% of minor league opponents and turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. Anderson has a 3.87 mark over parts of three seasons for the organization’s top affiliate in Round Rock.

Anderson still has a minor league option remaining, so Milwaukee can keep him at Triple-A Nashville for another season. The Brewers have Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Nick Mears and Jared Koenig locked into the Opening Day bullpen. Milwaukee could carry Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas in long relief. That’d only leave a couple ’pen spots up for grabs if everyone is healthy, so the flexibility afforded by the option is valuable.

Milwaukee acquired Jay from the Mets in July. The 30-year-old southpaw was limited to two MLB appearances after the deal. He tossed three scoreless innings with three walks and strikeouts apiece. Jay had pitched five times for New York earlier in the year, his first taste of big league action.

A former top 10 pick of the Twins, Jay has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues. He had a productive year in Triple-A between the New York and Milwaukee systems, combining for a 3.02 earned run average through 56 2/3 innings. He struck out a slightly below-average 20.5% of opponents while showing excellent control (5.1% walk rate). Milwaukee will trade Jay or put him on waivers within the next five days.

Molina, 21, was Milwaukee’s seventh-round pick last summer. The Arkansas product threw five scoreless innings in Low-A during his initial professional action. The 6’2″ lefty had turned in a 4.47 ERA over 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Razorbacks in his junior season. Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that Molina’s 89-90 MPH fastball plays above its velocity because of its life at the top of the zone. Molina’s command is a work in progress. He’s a low minors developmental flier for the Rangers.

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