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Max Scherzer Ahead Of Schedule, Could Return In Early May

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When Max Scherzer underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in December, the Rangers announced that he would likely be on the shelf into late June. A few weeks ago, GM Chris Young indicated the team wasn’t going to place Scherzer on the 60-day injured list, however, as his rehab had progressed to the point that there was optimism he could return at some point in late May. That timetable has been pushed up even further now, it seems.

Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News wrote this week that Scherzer will throw 40 pitches against live hitters Friday — his second session against live hitters this week. McFarland spoke with Scherzer following his first session, wherein he faced Ezequiel Duran, Andrew Knizner and Davis Wendzel. The three-time Cy Young winner said he threw all his pitches and “stepped on it” in that first session. In a video piece for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal reports the Rangers are hoping Scherzer will be ready as soon as early May.

It’s a fairly remarkable recovery and a welcome bit of good news for a Rangers club that opened the year with Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle on the injured list — only to lose lefty Cody Bradford to an IL stint of his own after an excellent three-start run to begin his season. Texas called former No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter to the big leagues today, but his debut effort didn’t go as hoped; Leiter was tagged for seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings. The Rangers have also seen veteran lefty Andrew Heaney yield nine runs in a dozen innings with particularly worrying command issues: seven walks and three hit batters.

The ostensible hope among Rangers brass for much of the offseason was that in-house arms like Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and the aforementioned Bradford could help patch things together until veterans deGrom, Scherzer and Mahle returned. Though lefty Jordan Montgomery was hopeful of a return to the Rangers in free agency, ownership never seemed inclined to dole out a contract matching the magnitude of his asking price — either in total length/dollars or on a per-year basis once it became clear he was amenable to shorter-term arrangement. Texas did make a late move to add Michael Lorenzen at a bargain $4.5MM price point, and he’s recently joined the rotation after building up in Triple-A.

For now, the quartet of Eovaldi, Gray, Dunning and Lorenzen seem set in stone. It’s not clear whether Leiter will get another start or was merely called up for a one-off appearance. Regardless of the short-term plans, if Scherzer is indeed able to return in the first week or two of May, that could push both Leiter and Heaney out of the rotation mix, barring injuries elsewhere on the staff.

Scherzer, 39, is in the final season of a three-year, $130MM contract originally signed with the Mets. He’s owed $43.333MM this season, though the Rangers are only on the hook for $12.5MM of that sum as part of last July’s trade sending him from Queens to Arlington. Though not the clear-cut No. 1 starter he once was, Scherzer wasn’t far off vintage form following that deadline swap. In eight starts with the Rangers, he pitched to a 3.20 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He also missed the final three weeks of the season with a teres major strain, however, and struggled in three postseason starts upon returning (seven runs, 11 hits, five walks, seven strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings).

Rangers Sign Shaun Anderson, Collin Wiles To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers have signed righties Shaun Anderson and Collin Wiles to minor league pacts, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both pitchers have been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

This will mark the 29-year-old Anderson’s second stint in the Rangers organization. Texas claimed him off waivers from the Twins in 2021, but he lasted less than a month in the organization before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles.

A former third-round pick by the Red Sox, Anderson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, totaling 135 2/3 frames with an unsightly 5.84 ERA. Fielding-independent marks like FIP and SIERA are only a bit more favorable, at 5.00 and 5.24, respectively. The 6’6″ Anderson doesn’t throw especially hard (career 93 mph average fastball) but has excellent extension and tantalizing spin rates that have at times resulted in plus swinging-strike rates. He hasn’t been consistent enough at inducing whiffs, however, as evidenced by a career 17.1% strikeout rate. He’s walked 9.9% of his opponents in the big leagues.

Anderson opened the 2023 season with the KBO’s Kia Tigers and pitched reasonably well, tossing 79 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 19% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 61.7% ground-ball rate. That run preceded a Triple-A look with the Phillies, where he pitched to a 4.85 ERA in 52 innings with diminished strikeout and grounder rates. In a total of 249 Triple-A innings, Anderson has a 3.90 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Wiles, also 29, reached the majors with the A’s in 2022 but has just 9 2/3 innings of big league experience. He allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with nine punchouts in that brief cup of coffee. This minor league deal marks a return to the organization that originally selected him with the No. 53 overall pick of the 2012 draft. Wiles was in the Rangers’ system from 2012-21 before departing as a minor league free agent and signing with Oakland. He racked up 143 1/3 innings in their Triple-A rotation and made four relief appearances in the majors.

Wiles doesn’t have standout run-prevention numbers (career 4.57 ERA) or strikeout rates (17%) in parts of 10 minor league seasons. He sports plus command though, as evidenced by a career 5.3% walk rate that’s actually improved as he’s climbed the minor league ladder (4.8% walk rate in both Double-A and Triple-A). Wiles signed the Brewers on a minor league deal in the 2022-23 offseason but wound up requiring shoulder surgery and didn’t pitch in 2023.

Both right-handers will give the Rangers some bullpen depth at a time when Brock Burke, Josh Sborz and Jonathan Hernandez are all on the injured list.

Rangers Promote Jack Leiter

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April 18: Texas officially selected Leiter’s contract on Thursday morning. The Rangers optioned Grant Anderson to Triple-A in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, they transferred lefty reliever Brock Burke to the 60-day injured list. Burke broke his non-throwing hand last week and will now be out of action until at least the middle of June.

April 16: The Rangers announced this morning that top pitching prospect Jack Leiter will have his contract selected to the major league roster and make his big league debut Thursday against the Tigers. Texas has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate the right-hander, whom they drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2021.

It’s an early birthday present for Leiter, who’ll turn 24 just three days after making his long-awaited debut. The second-generation talent is the son of two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star Al Leiter, the nephew of 11-year MLB veteran Mark Leiter, and the cousin of current Cubs setup man Mark Leiter Jr.

The fourth Leiter to reach the majors, Jack hasn’t had the most straightforward path to the show despite his considerable draft and prospect pedigree. He annihilated hitters in college ball at Vanderbilt, fanning 41% of his opponents in two seasons prior to being drafted, but struggled with command following an aggressive assignment to Double-A right out of the gate.

Leiter walked more than 13% of his opponents and posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of his first two seasons at the Double-A level but has been an absolute monster in his first three Triple-A appearances this season. In 14 1/3 innings, he’s punched out 25 of his 57 opponents (43.9%), walked only three (5.3%) and surrendered just 11 hits. Four of those, unfortunately, have left the yard and saddled Leiter with a 3.77 ERA that’s far less impressive than his overpowering K-BB profile would otherwise suggest, but it’s hard not to be encouraged by the strikeout and walk trends. That’s especially true given that Leiter also pitched 12 2/3 innings for Texas this spring and posted a much-improved 9.6% walk rate in that short time as well.

Texas’ rotation has been hammered by injuries. Jacob deGrom, signed to a five-year contract in the 2022-23 offseason, opened the year on the 60-day injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June. Max Scherzer, acquired at least year’s trade deadline, required offseason back surgery to repair a herniated disc. Twenty-six-year old southpaw Cody Bradford was a godsend through three starts to begin the season (1.40 ERA) … until he suffered a lower back strain of his own and was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL.

Leiter will step onto a starting staff that’s in flux. Veteran righty Michael Lorenzen, who inked a one-year deal late in spring training, made his Rangers debut yesterday with five shutout frames over his former Tigers teammates (albeit with five walks against four strikeouts). Veteran lefty Andrew Heaney would’ve been on tap for Thursday’s start, but he’s yet to last five innings in any of his three starts while pitching to a 6.75 ERA. It seems Leiter will overtake that spot, at least for the time being.

That all points to a rotation that’ll include Lorenzen, Leiter, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Wednesday’s starter Dane Dunning — at least for the time being. It’s not clear how long a leash Leiter will be given if he struggles out of the gate, though one would imagine the Rangers are planning to give him multiple starts following his initial call to the big leagues. Manager Bruce Bochy and/or general manager Chris Young will presumably expand on the team’s plans for their young righty in the days to come.

Leiter’s 2022-23 struggles were enough to drop him off prospect rankings, meaning he’s ineligible for MLB’s prospect promotion incentives. He won’t accrue a full year of service time, given the lack of sufficient time remaining on the calendar, nor can he net the Rangers a draft pick based on his Rookie of the Year voting. As it stands, he’ll be controllable through the 2030 season and is set up on pace to reach Super Two status, granting him four trips through the arbitration process rather than the standard three. The first of those arb-eligible offseasons would come in the winter of 2026-27, though future optional assignments could yet impact both his free agent timeline and arbitration status.

Blue Jays Trade Jimmy Robbins To Rangers

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The Rangers acquired minor league left-hander Jimmy Robbins from the Blue Jays, according to an announcement from Texas’ top affiliate in Round Rock. He was not on the Toronto 40-man roster and therefore won’t occupy a spot with Texas. According to the MLB.com transaction tracker, the Jays received cash in return.

Robbins, a 6’3″ southpaw, has yet to reach the majors. The Jays selected him out of a Florida junior college in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Robbins has never ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America. Eric Longenhangen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs rated him as an honorable mention on their write-up of the Toronto farm system in 2023, praising his slider and calling him a potential situational lefty out of the bullpen.

The 26-year-old has worked mostly as a starting pitcher in his career, but control issues figure to push him to relief. He started 18 of 22 appearances in Double-A last year, where he walked almost 14% of batters faced. That resulted in a lackluster 4.67 ERA over 86 2/3 innings. Robbins has gotten brief looks as a non-roster invitee to big league Spring Training in each of the last two years, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 frames spanning four relief outings. He has pitched twice out of the bullpen in Triple-A this season, tossing 2 1/3 innings of two-run ball.

Texas will keep Robbins in Triple-A, where he could see action as a starter or multi-inning reliever. The Rangers are calling Jack Leiter up from the Round Rock rotation for his MLB debut tomorrow. Meanwhile, their lefty relief depth took a hit when Brock Burke suffered a self-inflicted hand fracture over the weekend.

2023 Rule 5 Update: April Edition

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We’re three weeks into the 2024 season, and this year’s crop of Rule 5 picks has had an atypical amount of staying power. That’s perhaps in part due to the fact that only ten players were selected in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but as of this writing, only one Rule 5 selection has been returned to his original organization.

For those unfamiliar, in order to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, a player must not be on his team’s 40-man roster and must have played in either parts of five professional seasons (if they signed at 18 or younger) or four professional seasons (if they signed at 19 or older). The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 by selecting their contracts to the 40-man roster typically falls in mid-November and spurs a good deal of player movement as teams jettison borderline players and non-tender candidates from their roster in order to protect younger prospects.

A player who is selected in the Rule 5 Draft must spend the entire subsequent season on his new club’s Major League roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. The player can technically spend time on the injured list as well, but at least 90 days must be spent on the active roster. If not, the player’s Rule 5 status rolls into the following season until 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If a team at any point decides it can no longer carry a Rule 5 selection, that player must be passed through waivers and subsequently offered back to his original organization. Any other club can claim the player via waivers, but the same Rule 5 restrictions will apply to the claiming team.

Broadly speaking, the Rule 5 Draft rarely produces impact players. There are plenty of exceptions over the years, though, with names like Johan Santana, Dan Uggla, Shane Victorino, Joakim Soria, Josh Hamilton and, more recently, Garrett Whitlock and Trevor Stephan thriving in new organizations. The Rule 5 Draft dates back more than a century and has even produced a handful of Hall of Famers: Roberto Clemente, Hack Wilson and Christy Mathewson.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any Cooperstown-bound players come from this year’s crop, but the teams who opted to select a player will be content if any of these names become a viable reliever or role player for the next several seasons. Here’s a look at this year’s group of ten Rule 5 players and where they stand. We’ll do a few of these throughout the season, keeping tabs on which players survive the season and formally have their long-term rights transferred to their new clubs.

On a Major League Roster

Mitch Spence, RHP, Athletics (selected from Yankees)

Spence, 26 next month, was the first overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, and understandably so after the 2023 season he had. His 4.47 ERA might’ve been pedestrian, but the 2019 tenth-rounder led all Triple-A pitchers with 163 innings while delivering a nice blend of strikeouts (21.8%), walks (7.5%) and ground-balls (50%). For an A’s club desperately thin on starting pitching after the slew of rebuilding-driven trades for minor league arms have failed to produce much, adding a 25-year-old arm with that type of season held obvious appeal.

Spence made Oakland’s decision easy with a monster spring showing. He pitched 17 2/3 innings and allowed only six earned runs (3.06 ERA) on 15 hits and six walks with 21 punchouts. He’s worked out of the ’pen so far in Oakland but could very well find himself making starts later in the year. Through his first 11 2/3 MLB frames, Spence has yielded four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks with a 48.4% grounder rate. He’s not in danger of losing his spot anytime soon.

Matt Sauer, RHP, Royals (selected from Yankees)

Another 25-year-old righty out of the Yankees organization, Sauer came to his new club with a much heavier draft pedigree than his now-former teammate, Spence. The Yankees selected the 6’4″ righty with the No. 54 overall pick back in 2017, but Sauer didn’t develop as quickly as hoped. He was set back by 2019 Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. He’s never topped 111 innings in a season, but Sauer rebuilt some prospect pedigree with a nice 2023 season that saw him pitch 68 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in Double-A. He whiffed 29.5% of his opponents, albeit against a less palatable 10.3% walk rate.

Like his former teammate, Sauer had a nice spring that made the decision relatively easy for his new club. In 10 2/3 innings, he held opponents to three earned runs (2.53 ERA) on 13 hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts. He opened the season in the Kansas City bullpen and has thus far pitched five innings, allowing a pair of runs in that time. Sauer has walked four of his 25 opponents and fanned just two thus far. It’s a small sample, of course, but he’ll need to reverse that early trend to hang onto his roster spot — especially if the Royals continue their hot start and find themselves contending into the summer.

Anthony Molina, RHP, Rockies (selected from Rays)

The 22-year-old Molina worked as a starter in the Rays’ system last year, taking the ball 28 times (27 starts) and pitching 122 innings with a 4.50 ERA. The undersized righty has garnered praise for a solid-average heater and above-average changeup, and he showed good command in 2023 after struggling with walks earlier in his minor league career. Molina continued to show good command in spring training (in addition to a massive 60.5% grounder rate), but the regular season has been brutal for him thus far. In three appearances, he’s been tattooed for a dozen runs on 13 hits and four walks with just two strikeouts. The Rockies can afford to be as patient as they want. They’re 4-13 on the season and were never expected to contend. Still, Molina will need to improve on his early performance in order to stick on the roster.

Nasim Nunez, INF, Nationals (selected from Marlins)

The Nationals have effectively played the season thus far with a 25-man roster. Nunez made the Opening Day squad but has been M.I.A. since. He’s appeared in just five of Washington’s 16 games and received only two plate appearances, going hitless in that meaningless sample. Nunez is an all-glove and speed prospect who hit just .224/.341/.286 in Double-A last season. He did go 52-for-59 in stolen base attempts, and scouting reports have long touted his defensive excellence at shortstop. He hit just .152/.200/.182 in 35 spring plate appearances.

It’s fair to wonder how long the Nats can essentially punt a roster spot by keeping Nunez on the bench, but like the Rockies, they’re not expecting to contend this season anyhow. One would imagine that from a pure developmental standpoint, they need to find a way to get Nunez into some games and start getting him some playing time, but for now, the team appears content to just hide the 23-year-old on the bench.

Ryan Fernandez, RHP, Cardinals (selected from Red Sox)

Fernandez, 25, has just four appearances out of the St. Louis bullpen so far and has been understandably deployed in low-leverage spots while he acclimates to the majors. He’s pitched fairly well in sparse duty, holding opponents to three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. Fernandez has averaged just under 96 mph on his heater, fanned seven opponents and issued three walks. His swinging-strike rate isn’t close to where it’s been in his minor league work, but his wipeout slider has been strong thus far. Fernandez has finished off eight plate appearances with that pitch, picking up four strikeouts and yielding only one hit. Nothing he’s done so far makes it seem like he’ll be cut loose anytime soon.

Justin Slaten, RHP, Red Sox (selected by Mets from Rangers; traded to Red Sox for LHP Ryan Ammons)

While most Rule 5 relievers are eased into low-pressure spots, that hasn’t been the case with the Sox and Slaten. He held a four-run lead to pick up a seven-out save in the team’s fourth game of the season, and the 6’4″ righty has since tallied three holds out of Alex Cora’s bullpen. In 10 1/3 innings, Slaten has allowed only one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Add in 6 1/3 shutout innings in spring training, and he’s looked more like a seasoned veteran than a 26-year-old who entered the season with all of 8 1/3 innings above the Double-A level. Slaten has immediately made himself an important part of Boston’s roster, and while a prolonged slump could always change things, he looks like a keeper right now.

Stephen Kolek, RHP, Padres (selected from Mariners)

Kolek, who’ll turn 27 tomorrow, began his big league tenure with four runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two appearances. He’s since bounced back with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, fanning 11 hitters against three walks along the way. He punched out nearly a quarter of his opponents in Triple-A last year and did so with a huge 57.5% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t picked up grounders at such a strong level just yet (43.5%), but San Diego probably isn’t second-guessing their decision to select him. He’s already picked up a pair of holds, and his recent run of success has dropped his ERA to 4.35. Command has been a problem for Kolek in the past, but he’s only walked 8.9% of his opponents against a 26.7% strikeout rate so far.

On the Major League Injured List

Shane Drohan, LHP, White Sox (selected from Red Sox): Drohan underwent shoulder surgery in late February and is on the 60-day IL. There’s no telling yet when he’ll be medically cleared to return. As noted in the intro, Drohan needs 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 designation; even if he spends the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list, his Rule 5 status will carry over into 2025 until he picks up those 90 active days.

Carson Coleman, RHP, Rangers (selected from Yankees): Coleman is also on the 60-day injured list. Unlike Drohan, it was well known at the time of his selection that he’d be IL-bound to begin the year. Coleman had Tommy John surgery last year and is expected to be out until midsummer at the least.

Returned to Original Organization

Deyvison De Los Santos, INF, Guardians (returned to D-backs): De Los Santos has big raw power but a well below-average hit tool. The Guardians selected him on the heels of a 20-homer campaign in Double-A with the D-backs, but he hit just .227/.227/.318 in 44 spring appearances before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and getting returned to the Snakes. He’s had a big performance in a return-trip to Double-A.

Whitey Herzog Passes Away

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Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog has passed away at 92. The Cardinals announced the news on Tuesday morning. Herzog’s family provided a brief statement, as relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on X): “Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family.  We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from friends who knew he was very ill.  Although it is hard for us to say goodbye, his peaceful passing was a blessing for him.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released the following statement:

“Whitey Herzog was one of the most accomplished managers of his generation and a consistent winner with both ‘I-70’ franchises.  He made a significant impact on the St. Louis Cardinals as both a manager and a general manager, with the Kansas City Royals as a manager, and with the New York Mets in player development.  Whitey’s Cardinals’ teams reached the World Series three times in the 1980s, winning the Championship in 1982, by leaning on an identity of speed and defense that resonated with baseball fans across the world.

On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Whitey’s family, his friends across the game, and the fans of the Cardinals and the Royals.”

Herzog is best known for his legendary managerial run, but his time in professional baseball started as a player. He signed with the Yankees out of high school and spent a few seasons in the New York farm system. The Yankees traded him to the Washington Senators on the eve of the 1956 campaign. Herzog made his MLB debut in Washington, appearing in more than 100 games as a regular outfielder and hitting .245/.302/.337 as a rookie.

After Herzog made brief appearances with the Senators in each of the next two campaigns, Washington sold his contractual rights to the then-Kansas City A’s. He spent parts of three seasons with the A’s, hitting at a slightly above-average clip (.268/.383/.384) in 209 games. Herzog continued to produce solid results as a part-time player for two years after being traded to the Orioles before finishing his playing days with a brief stint in Detroit. Over parts of eight seasons, he hit .257/.354/.365 with 25 home runs and 172 runs batted in.

While that would’ve been a solid enough career in its own right, Herzog’s status as one of the sport’s all-time figures developed in his post-playing days. After a brief stint as an A’s scout, he moved into coaching and player development with the Mets. After the 1972 campaign, he landed his first managerial gig with the Rangers. That didn’t go well, as Texas stumbled to a 47-91 record and Herzog was fired before the end of the season when the Rangers seized the opportunity to hire Billy Martin.

Herzog spent the next year on the Angels’ coaching staff, a stint that included a four-game run as interim manager. It wasn’t until 1975 when he got his first extended managerial opportunity. The Royals tabbed Herzog that July to take over from Jack McKeon. He led the team to a 41-25 record down the stretch, although that wasn’t enough to overcome a middling 50-46 start to snag a playoff berth.

While the ’75 team fell a few games shy of the postseason, the Royals found plenty of success over the next few years. Herzog guided the team to three straight AL West titles from 1976-78, the first playoff trips in franchise history. While they were knocked off by the Yankees in the ALCS in all three seasons, that stretch of excellent regular season showings was a prelude to October success the following decade.

Unfortunately for Royals fans, that came with their in-state rivals. After the Royals missed the playoffs in ’79, Herzog was hired by the Cardinals as both manager and GM. He set about rebuilding the team around speed, defense and contact hitting at the expense of power. While the so-called “Whiteyball” was initially met with some derision, Herzog guided the Cardinals back to the top of the sport.

St. Louis missed the postseason during his first two seasons at the helm before a 92-win showing to snag the NL East title in 1982. After sweeping the Braves in the NLCS, they took on the Brewers in the Fall Classic. The Cards came back from a 3-2 series deficit, erasing a 3-1 lead in Game 7. St. Louis missed the postseason over the next two years but rattled off 101 wins to secure another NL East title in 1985.

Herzog was named the Senior Circuit’s Manager of the Year. A six-game triumph over the Dodgers in the NLCS set the stage for a matchup with his old team. The Cards dropped a classic seven-game set to the upstart Royals, the first title in franchise history. There was no shortage of controversy. With the Cardinals up 3-2 in the series and taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, a missed call at first base by Don Denkinger spurred a rally in which Kansas City came back for a 2-1 win. The Royals won the seventh game convincingly.

St. Louis made it back to the World Series once more during Herzog’s tenure. They knocked off the Giants in the 1987 NLCS to set up a showdown with the Twins. That also went seven games, with Minnesota coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to win it. Herzog managed the Cards for another three seasons but didn’t make it back to October. His managerial days ended midway through the 1990 campaign, although he later had a brief stint leading baseball operations for the Angels.

Including his interim work with the Halos, Herzog managed parts of 18 seasons in the majors. He won nearly 1300 regular season games, three pennants and one World Series. The veterans committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009. He was enshrined in St. Louis’ organizational Hall of Fame a few years later. MLBTR joins countless others around the game in sending condolences to Herzog’s family, friends, loved ones and the many players whose careers he impacted over the decades.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Recall Cole Winn For MLB Debut, Place Cody Bradford On IL

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The Rangers announced a pair of roster moves this afternoon, placing left-hander Cody Bradford on the 15-day IL with a low-back strain and recalling right-hander Cole Winn to take his place on the active roster.

It’ll be Winn’s major league debut the first time he gets into a game. The 24-year-old righty was selected fifteenth overall by the Rangers in the first round of the 2018 draft and made some noise as a top-100 prospect following a dominant 2021 season that saw him pitch to a 2.41 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate in 21 starts split between the Double- and Triple-A levels of the minors. Unfortunately, Winn has struggled badly in the years since then. 2022 saw the right-hander post a whopping 6.51 ERA in 28 starts with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate spiked to an unwieldy 15.2%, prompting the club to move Winn to the bullpen during the 2023 season.

The move to multi-inning relief work did not bring an end to Winn’s struggles, as he posted a staggering 7.22 ERA in 101 innings of work last year. His peripheral numbers also got even worse, as his walk rate crept up to 16% while his strikeout rate plummeted to just 19.7%. Things haven’t looked much better for Winn so far this year, as he posted a 9.82 ERA in 7 2/3 innings during camp this spring and has allowed five runs (four earned) across his first four appearances at Triple-A this season. Despite the shaky results, Winn will nonetheless get the opportunity to pitch at the big league level, helping to provide depth to a bullpen that’s been leaned on for 40% of the club’s innings in recent days.

Making room for Winn on the active roster is Bradford, who heads to the injured list with a back strain following an excellent start to the 2024 season. The 26-year-old southpaw has pitched to a 1.40 ERA and a 2.47 FIP with 17 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings of work across three starts so far this year, forming a formidable duo with veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi at the front of the club’s rotation to this point in the season. The Rangers will surely miss Bradford’s production while he’s on the IL, but Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicates that his absence could be a relatively short one, with Bradford potentially only needing the minimum amount of time off. If that ends up being the case, Bradford would first be eligible to return on April 25, as today’s IL move was backdated to April 11.

In the meantime, however, Texas will need to look elsewhere to fill Bradford’s spot in the club’s starting rotation. Per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, that help will come in the form of right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year deal with the club last month and has been building up in the minors since then. Landry reports that Lorenzen is set to make his Rangers debut in a start tomorrow against the Tigers, for whom he pitched the first half of the 2023 season. Lorenzen’s time with Detroit wound up being something of a breakout for the right-hander, as he pitched to a 3.58 ERA (125 ERA+) with a 3.86 FIP in 18 starts with the club before being shipped to the Phillies ahead of last summer’s trade deadline.

Rangers Place Brock Burke On 15-Day Injured List

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The Rangers will be placing southpaw Brock Burke on the 15-day injured list due to a broken right hand, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today).  In corresponding moves, Texas selected the contract of right-hander Austin Pruitt, and moved infielder Justin Foscue to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space.

The injury occurred in ignominious fashion, as Bochy said Burke broke his hand while punching a wall following his rough outing yesterday.  Texas defeated Houston 12-8, though the Astros drew a lot closer after scoring five times in the seventh inning.  Burke was charged with four of those runs over two-thirds of an inning of work, including a two-run homer off the bat of Kyle Tucker.

Burke now has a garish 15.00 ERA across three innings and five appearances this season, and he’ll face an extended absence while his non-pitching hand heals up.  In a best case scenario, this might serve as a bit of a reset for Burke for just this season and really over two years as a whole, as his 2023 numbers declined after his breakout 2022 campaign.  The advanced metrics behind his 1.97 ERA in 2022 suggested some regression was in order, and Burke ended up posting a 4.37 ERA over 59 2/3 innings last season.  He couldn’t get on track in the postseason, as Burke allowed five runs over two-thirds of an inning (over two appearances) during the Rangers’ run to the World Series.

Even with Burke and Jose Leclerc struggling, Texas’ bullpen is pitching better overall than it did for much of last year’s regular season.  David Robertson could now be getting closer duties since Leclerc has been temporarily demoted to lower-leverage work, and the trio of Jose Urena, Jacob Latz, and Kirby Yates have combined for 21 2/3 innings of scoreless ball.

Pruitt now joins this mix, pitching less than an hour’s drive from his hometown of Plano, Texas.  Pruitt isn’t a hard thrower and he has had some problems keeping the ball in the park over his six MLB seasons, but the veteran reliever has posted some solid results.  The righty quietly had a 2.98 ERA in 48 1/3 innings for the A’s in 2023, even if he enjoyed some good fortune in the form of a .264 BABIP and a 78% strand rate.  The Rangers signed Pruitt to a minors deal after the Athletics non-tendered him, and Pruitt now looks to temporarily step into Burke’s multi-inning relief role.

Foscue was placed on the 10-day IL earlier this week due to a left oblique strain, and this rather quick shift to the 60-day IL indicates that Foscue’s strain is a more severe variety.  It makes for a tough start to Foscue’s big league career, as he only just made his MLB debut on April 5 and played in two games before suffering the injury.  Injuries to Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Jung, and now Foscue have left the Rangers a little thin around the infield, though Lowe is expected to start a rehab assignment this coming week as he plots his return from his own oblique strain.

Rangers Select Davis Wendzel

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The Rangers announced they’ve selected infielder Davis Wendzel onto the major league roster. Rookie infielder Justin Foscue has been placed on the 10-day injured list as a result of a left oblique strain. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Texas transferred third baseman Josh Jung from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Wendzel, 26, is headed to the big leagues for the first time. Texas took the right-handed hitter 41st overall in the 2019 draft. The Baylor product hasn’t moved through the ranks as quickly as the team likely envisioned on draft day, but he’s now headed to Globe Life Field after parts of five seasons in the minors.

Within his first two-plus seasons in pro ball, Wendzel had reached the Triple-A level. He has played there since 2022. Wendzel struggled in his first look at Triple-A pitching, hitting .207/.287/.398 during the ’22 campaign. He improved in his second season, connecting on 30 homers with a roughly average .236/.361/.477 overall line. Wendzel went unselected in the Rule 5 draft but he’s been off to a blistering start this year. Over his first nine contests, he’s hitting .314/.419/.657 with a trio of homers and four walks and strikeouts apiece in 43 trips to the plate.

That excellent first week surely played a role in Wendzel’s first promotion, but his call is also motivated in part by injuries to players above him on the third base depth chart. Jung broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch a few days into the season. He underwent surgery and will miss 8-10 weeks, making his move to the 60-day IL a formality. Jung’s injury spurred Foscue’s first MLB call, but the Mississippi State product lands on the shelf himself after just two plate appearances. The Rangers didn’t provide a timetable for his return. Depending on their severity, oblique strains sometimes lead to absences in excess of a month.

Since Jung went down, the Rangers have relied on Josh Smith as their primary third baseman. That’ll likely continue, with righty-hitting Ezequiel Duran on hand as a complement to Smith’s left-handed bat. Wendzel adds another righty bat to that mix and has the ability to back up the middle infield duo of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.

Rangers Place Josh Sborz On 15-Day Injured List

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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.

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