1:01pm: The Rangers confirmed the signing via press release.
1:00pm: It’s a one-year, $1.65MM deal (plus incentives) for Ruggiano, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
11:13am: The Rangers are hoping to announce a deal with outfielder Justin Ruggiano today, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter). On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) noted that the Rangers were working on a one-year major league deal with Ruggiano. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News recently reported on the Rangers’ interest in Ruggiano as a right-handed depth piece.
Ruggiano is a very tough out for opposing southpaws, creating a solid fit with the heavily left-handed Texas lineup. The 33-year-old turned things on after he was demoted early on by the Mariners, raking at Triple-A and even slashing a cool .291/.350/.618 in his sixty plate appearances with the Dodgers. For his career, Ruggiano owns a .256/.321/.436 slash line across seven seasons with the Rays, Marlins, Cubs, Mariners, and Dodgers. His lifetime line against lefties, of course, is a lot sharper: .272/.336/.520.
Interestingly, Wilson hears that Ruggiano will try out the first base position during spring training. The Austin, Texas native has never played first base in his big league career.
Much cheaper than Napoli for similar production against lefties. Pretty good signing IMO.
Ranger fans will appreciate Ruggiano’s approach to the game and his production when given an opportunity. Filled in well for Puig during his short time with the Dodgers and was a nice right-handed bat off of the bench.
Good signing. He was mashing lefties even before Seattle sent him down last season.