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Rangers Designate Greg Holland For Assignment

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The Rangers announced this afternoon they’ve designated reliever Greg Holland for assignment. The move clears an active roster spot for starter Jon Gray, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list to start tonight’s ballgame against the Mariners. Texas’ 40-man roster now sits at 39.

Holland broke camp with Texas after signing a minor league deal over the winter. The veteran righty got off to a tough start to the season, however, allowing five runs on six hits (including three homers) with a walk and five strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings. Rangers’ brass elected not to give him much time to try to work through those struggles, instead bumping him off the roster.

The 36-year-old didn’t have a ton of leeway after struggling to a 4.85 ERA in 55 2/3 frames with the Royals last year. Holland had posted a sterling 1.91 mark in 28 games during the shortened 2020 schedule, but he hasn’t managed to build off that success the past couple years. Holland was a three-time All-Star and one of the sport’s best few relievers during his prime in Kansas City, but he posted an ERA of 4.54 or higher in the three other campaigns between 2018-21.

Texas will have a week to trade Holland or place him on waivers. He has more than enough experience to refuse an outright assignment and elect minor league free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed. That’d seem the likeliest outcome, at which point Holland could explore offers from other teams.

Gray is back after a minimal IL stint due to a blister on his pitching hand. Signed to a four-year deal over the winter, he tossed four innings of three-run ball against the Blue Jays during his team debut.

Rangers Select Matt Moore, Place Josh Sborz On 10-Day IL

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The Rangers announced that right-hander Josh Sborz has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow soreness.  Taking Sborz’s place on the active roster is Matt Moore, as the veteran southpaw’s contract was selected from Triple-A.

Moore signed a minor league deal with Texas shortly after the lockout, looking to again try and get his big league career back on track.  After injuries and poor performances during the 2017-19 seasons, Moore pitched well over 78 innings with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2020, but his return from Japan didn’t lead to better results in MLB.  Moore posted a 6.29 ERA over 73 innings with the Phillies last season, allowing 15 home runs while starting 13 of 24 games.

This will be Moore’s second official stint on the Rangers’ active roster, as he pitched 102 innings of 6.79 ERA ball for Texas in 2018.  The expectation is that Moore will be used out of the bullpen in a long relief role, or perhaps as a bulk pitcher behind an opener depending on how the Rangers navigate some injuries in their rotation.  Both Jon Gray and Spencer Howard are on the injured list with blisters, and while at least Gray may be back after just the minimum 10 days, the Rangers might be in need of some short-term starting help until their rotation is back to fuller strength.

Sborz is off to a shaky start, with an 11.25 ERA after his first four innings of work in 2022.  A balky elbow could be responsible for these struggles, and Sborz will now get a chance to heal up and essentially reset his season.  Sborz’s first season with the Rangers was a success, as he posted a 3.97 ERA over 59 innings out of the 2021 Texas bullpen, albeit with a troublesome 12.5% walk rate.

Rangers Activate Garrett Richards; Place Spencer Howard, Dennis Santana On Injured List

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The Rangers announced four roster moves involving right-handed pitchers today, including the activation of Garrett Richards from the 10-day injured list.  Nick Snyder was also called up from Triple-A.  In corresponding moves, Dennis Santana was placed on the COVID-related injured list, while Spencer Howard was placed on the regular 10-day IL due to a blister and cracked fingernail.

Richards signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $5.5MM following the lockout, but his Texas debut was postponed by a blister issue of his own.  Fortunately, it ended up being only a minor setback, and Richards is now lined up to take his spot in the Rangers bullpen.  Reporter Jeff Wilson (Twitter links) that the Rangers are tentatively planning a bullpen game for Friday’s contest with the Angels, so Richards could conceivably get the pseudo-start if he doesn’t see any action tonight.

Howard has been initially stated to start Friday’s game, but he will now head to the IL (retroactive to April 11) to recover from his own finger issue.  The 25-year-old didn’t fare well in his first start of the season, as Howard was tagged for four homers and six earned runs over three innings in a 12-6 loss to the Blue Jays.  Blisters have been a recurring problem for the Rangers in the early going, between Richards’ absence, and both Howard and Jon Gray now sidelined.  The Rangers have an off-day on April 18, so it’s possible the rotation might not need further re-alignment if Howard and/or Gray are able to return in short order.

Santana is still waiting results of his COVID-19 test, but Wilson reports that the IL placement was precautionary since Santana is showing symptoms.  As per the 2022 rules, Santana will have to miss a minimum of five days and be free of symptoms for the last two or more of those days.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/22

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Catching up on some minor moves from around the game…

  • The Rangers outrighted Sherten Apostel to Triple-A, after the infielder cleared waivers.  Apostel was designated for assignment prior to the Rangers’ Opening Day game.  The 23-year-old made his big league debut with seven games for Texas in 2020 but didn’t receive another call to the majors last year.  Originally acquired from the Pirates as part of the Keone Kela trade in 2018, Apostel has hit .246/.358/.422 over 1437 career minor league plate appearances in the Pittsburgh and Texas farm systems.

Jon Gray Discusses Free Agency Decision

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Jon Gray spent nearly a decade in the Colorado Rockies organization, from being drafted by them in 2013 until reaching free agency after the 2021 season. Although there was apparently mutual interest in Gray staying in Colorado, the club was ultimately outbid by the Rangers, as they signed Gray to a four-year, $56MM contract.

The Rockies opened a series against Texas today, giving the Colorado media, including Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette, a chance to catch up with Gray and discuss recent events. Once he became a free agent, the Rangers aggressively pursued Gray, not only in terms of their financials, but also their sales pitch in general. “It felt good to have someone say ’You are this good and this is why and we’re going to help you get there,'” Gray said.

The Rockies were apparently not pleased with this turn of events, as Allentuck reports that the relationship between Gray and the team soured to the point that there was “a little bit of fighting” as he considered taking the offer to move to Texas. There’s evidently no lingering bad blood, as Gray says that he would have been “on the fence” if the Rockies had matched the Rangers’ offer, and the sides are apparently on good terms now. Still, it’s noteworthy that the organization is developing a track record for having friction with its marquee players.

Just over two years ago, Nolan Arenado went public with his dissatisfaction, saying “there’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of.” Before the 2021 season, he would be traded to the Cardinals. At the trade deadline last year, Trevor Story wasn’t dealt, despite being an impending free agent on a non-competitive ball club. After the clock ticked down to zero and Story was still in Colorado, he also spoke publicly, saying he was “confused” and adding, “I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded.” He would eventually sign with the Red Sox. In Gray’s case, the club apparently made him an extension offer in the $35-40MM range, but then didn’t make him a qualifying offer at season’s end, ultimately losing him for nothing. Although the situation with Gray doesn’t seem quite as dramatic as with Arenado or Story, that still makes three consecutive star players that have left town with at least a hint of tension.

While outside observers can only know so much about the inner workings of the team, it surely doesn’t help matters if the club is building a reputation as one that is difficult to work with. They already face challenges luring in free agents, especially pitchers, due to the difficulties of playing at elevation. That’s compounded by the fact that they share a division with aggressive and competitive teams like the Dodgers, Giants and Padres. The appearance of conflict with important players will likely only exacerbate those burdens.

Rangers To Place Jon Gray On IL With Blister

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Jon Gray developed a blister in last night’s season opening game against the Blue Jays. Though he initially said he expected to make his next start, the club will be placing him on the IL. Spencer Patton will be recalled to take his place on the roster. (Twitter links from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News)

Gray was signed in the offseason to a four-year, $56MM deal to front a rotation that was otherwise composed of younger and less-experienced arms. Although this set back is unfortunate news for Rangers fans, there doesn’t seem to be much need for panic. As noted by Grant, the club has a few off-days coming up (on April 13th and 18th), meaning they won’t need a fifth starter until April 23rd, two weeks from now. After the shortened Spring Training following the lockout, certain rules have been changed for the start of the season. While the minimum length of stay on the injured list for pitchers and two-way players is increasing to 15 days this season, that won’t go into effect until May 2. From April 7 through May 1, pitchers and two-way players can be placed on the 10-day injured list. This move seems to merely be a precautionary one, using the gaps in the schedule and the temporary rule change as a way to make sure Gray can quickly heal up before the six-month grind that lies ahead.

Dane Dunning is on the hill today and will take up one rotation spot. Martin Perez, who was also signed in the offseason to add some veteran presence, should have another. Taylor Hearn and Spencer Howard should have the final two slots.

As for Patton, the 34-year-old returned to MLB last year after a four-year stint in Japan. In 42 1/3 innings for the Rangers last year, he put up an ERA of 3.83 with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate.

Rangers Trade Yonny Hernandez To Diamondbacks

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The Rangers have set their Opening Day roster, announcing a series of transactions that includes the trade of infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeferson Espinal. Arizona has designated right-hander Humberto Mejia for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.

Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.

Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.

Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.

Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.

As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.

Greg Holland Makes Rangers’ Roster

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The Rangers have informed veteran reliever Greg Holland that he’s made the Opening Day roster, per Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll need to have his contract formally selected to the 40-man roster before Opening Day.

The 36-year-old Holland joined the Rangers on a minor league deal and made a strong impression in camp, firing five shutout innings with four hits, one walk and six strikeouts. Holland is the third non-roster veteran known to be breaking camp with the Rangers, who’ve already informed Charlie Culberson and Matt Bush they’ve made the club. Texas will need to make a trio of 40-man roster moves to accommodate this group.

A three-time All-Star and a pivotal cog to the Royals’ consecutive World Series rosters in 2014-15, Holland returned to Kansas City in 2020 after spending three years between the Rockies, Cardinals, Nationals and D-backs. He was outstanding in his return to K.C. during the shortened 2020 season but struggled more in 2021 as his strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates all trended in the wrong direction. On the whole, Holland posted a 3.86 ERA with a 23.7% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 44.6% ground-ball rate through 84 innings between his 2020-21 Royals reunion.

The Rangers will now become the sixth club for which Holland has suited up at the big league level. While Holland could eventually be in the mix for some saves in Texas, manager Chris Woodward told Hoyt and other reporters that the team isn’t planning to designate a set closer — at least not for Opening Day. Early-season performance will likely help to dictate the distribution of the late-inning workload, as will the respective rehabs of flamethrowers Jose Leclerc and Jonathan Hernandez, each of whom is on the mend from Tommy John surgery but expected to return in the first half of the 2022 season. Leclerc’s surgery came on March 30 last year, while Hernandez went under the knife just two weeks later, on April 12.

Holland’s contract reportedly came with a $2.1MM base salary upon making the club, so that’ll be locked in once the team formally selects his contract this week. With Hernandez and Leclerc slated to open the season on the injured list, Holland will join Bush, Joe Barlow, Josh Sborz and Brett Martin as late-inning options for Woodward.

Rangers Release Jake Marisnick, Brandon Workman

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The Rangers announced Tuesday that outfielder Jake Marisnick and righty Brandon Workman have been released from their minor league contracts. It’s not clear whether either exercised an out clause in their contract, but it’s common this time of year for veterans of this nature to trigger such provisions in their non-roster contracts if they’ve been informed they won’t make the team. Regardless, both veterans will now be free to seek a new opportunity with another club.

Marisnick, 31, split the 2021 season between the Cubs and Padres, batting a combined .216/.286/.375 through 198 trips to the plate. The longtime Astros outfielder has never been known for his offensive prowess, however, and instead provides the bulk of his value with the glove and on the basepaths. Capable of playing all three outfield positions, Marisnick boasts a whopping 75 Defensive Runs Saved and an impressive 41 Outs Above Average in 4929 career innings in the outfield. He’s also swiped 77 bases in 105 tries (73.3%).

Workman, 33, has been with three different clubs over the past two seasons and struggled to recapture the peak form he displayed in Boston from 2017-19. During that three-year run with the Sox, Workman tallied 152 2/3 innings of 2.59 ERA ball with an impressive 28.9% strikeout rate that helped to offset a bloated 11.7% walk rate. Opponents struggled to do damage on contact against Workman during that time — evidenced by a 0.82 HR/9 mark.

Over the past two seasons, however, Workman has been clobbered for a 5.66 ERA in 47 2/3 frames, due in no small part to the fact that his HR/9 mark has nearly doubled to 1.51. Workman’s strikeout rate has also fallen to 20.3%, while his already problematic walk rate has further inflated to 14.3%. He appeared in a pair of official spring games with the Rangers and yielded two runs in two innings of work. Workman didn’t yield a homer or a walk and punched out three of the nine men he faced.

Todd Frazier Retires

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Two-time All-Star Todd Frazier is set to announce his retirement today, he tells Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “(Baseball) has been my love my whole life,” the third baseman said. “It’s very hard to let go. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. But where I’m at in my career and where I’m at in my life, I think it was the right decision. I think it’s time to be that family figure that I’ve always wanted to be.”

Frazier has appeared in the majors in each of the past 11 seasons. A supplemental first-round pick out of Rutgers by the Reds in 2007, Frazier emerged as one of the sport’s most promising prospects within his first couple pro seasons. He debuted in the big leagues in 2011 and cemented himself at the hot corner in Cincinnati not long thereafter.

Todd Frazier

In 128 games in 2012, Frazier hit a productive .273/.331/.498 en route to a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. After a roughly league average showing the following season, he broke through as one of the better position players in the game. Frazier combined for a .264/.322/.479 showing between 2014-15, averaging 32 home runs per season. He was selected to the Midsummer Classic in both years and won the 2015 Home Run Derby in front of a home crowd in Cincinnati.

The rebuilding Reds moved Frazier to the White Sox as part of a three-team deal with the Dodgers the following winter. He spent a season and a half in Chicago, not quite reaching his peak Cincinnati level but still offering solid production. The Sox moved him to the Yankees midseason in 2017, and he spent the following two years in Queens after signing with the Mets that offseason. Frazier continued to hit at a decent level throughout that run. His batting average and on-base percentage gradually ticked down, but he popped 39 homers during his first two seasons as a Met.

Frazier’s 499 plate appearances in 2019 proved his last extended MLB workload. He signed with the Rangers over the 2019-20 offseason, then ended up back in Flushing when the Mets acquired him at the trade deadline. Frazier struggled down the stretch, though, and New York bought him out that winter. He hooked on with the Pirates last offseason and played in 13 games before being released in March.

That marked an end to Frazier’s time in the big leagues, but it didn’t bring his playing career to a complete conclusion. He was among a handful of respected veterans to represent the U.S. as part of last summer’s Silver Medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics.

Frazier wraps up his career with a .241/.318/.445 slash line in a bit under 5,000 MLB plate appearances. That production was seven percentage points better than league average in aggregate, by measure of wRC+, and he had three seasons with a wRC+ north of 115. A well-regarded defender for the bulk of his career, Frazier got plus marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. He suited up for six different clubs, combining to hit 218 homers and drive in 640 runs. Each of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs valued his career at around 23-24 wins above replacement, a very fine showing that endeared him to Reds fans in particular. MLBTR congratulates Frazier on an excellent run and wishes him all the best in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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