Charlie Culberson and Matt Bush have both been told they will be making the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, while Matt Carpenter has been assigned to Triple-A. (Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News was among those to report the info.) The Rangers will need to make two corresponding moves to create a pair of 40-man roster spots in advance of their April 8 opener in Toronto.
The two veterans are known quantities in Arlington, as Culberson played for the Rangers last season and Bush has spent all four of his MLB seasons in a Rangers uniform. Culberson came to Texas on another minors contract last year and appeared in 91 games in 2021, batting .243/.296/.381 in 271 plate appearances and mostly playing third base, though Culberson also got a bit of action at six other positions. The Rangers will again deploy Culberson in a utility role, with Grant noting that Culberson can back up any position besides shortstop, as Marcus Semien could likely move from second base to short in the event that Corey Seager gets a day off.
Bush signed a two-year minors deal prior to the 2020 season, owing to the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. He missed all of 2019 and 2020 recovering from the surgery, and then missed almost all of 2021 as well, pitching just four innings due to a flexor strain. Texas outrighted Bush off its 40-man roster after the season and he opted to remain in the organization rather than become a minor league free agent.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Bush after essentially three lost seasons, plus even a 2018 season that was cut short by elbow problems. However, the Rangers have liked what they’ve seen from the 36-year-old in camp, and it isn’t out of the question that Bush might even earn some save chances given that Texas doesn’t have an established closer.
Carpenter told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that he would be accepting his assignment to Triple-A rather than taking his opt-out clause, as Carpenter figured that he would need more time to ramp up. Due to the lockout, Carpenter only signed his minors deal with the Rangers a little over two weeks ago, and “for anybody with my kind of situation, it would have been better suited to have a normal Spring Training to get more opportunities, more reps and more at-bats. So I totally understand their decision. It just wasn’t enough time to really get a good idea of what was going on. But I’m not gonna shy away from an opportunity down there [in Triple-A].”
Three years of diminished productivity for Carpenter led the Cardinals to decline their 2022 club option on his services, and Carpenter has spent the offseason completely changing his swing mechanics and approach at the plate. With only 18 PA during Spring Training, the time at Triple-A will give Carpenter a chance to “get at-bats and hopefully open some eyes with the way I’m swinging.”
Carpenter knows he’ll be up when Matt bush blows his arm out in 2 weeks
Pls stop smoking crack ⚾️
Substance D is the newest thing, crack was so 1980s
You have to respect Matt Bush’s tenacity and perseverance. He didn’t debut until age 30 and he has missed nearly 3 full seasons of baseball due to injury. Now he makes the big league roster at age 36…that’s a great story! Hopefully he can stay healthy this year and provide quality bullpen innings for the Rangers. It’s hard not to root for this guy.
@dorothy, as a rangers fan I respect nothing about Matt bush. Because he can throw a baseball 96 mph he’s been given a million chances despite multiple DWI’s including one that was a hit and run that almost killed a man. Matt bush is trash
I hate to say it because from a pure baseball perspective he’s a good story, but I agree with this.
Matt Bush has served his time and is, by all accounts, a very different person than he was as a young man, when the descriptions in this comment section were more fitting.
Having read a number of stories on the victim and his struggles, I certainly empathize with him and his family, but I also think some grace has to be extended for people to grow and change.
That doesn’t absolve Bush of any responsibility for his past. And if you feel as though his Major League Baseball career should have been forfeited as a result of those past offenses, that’s a reasonable take. But I have a problem with throwing human beings away as irredeemable and defining their entire lives and character by decisions made when they were 25, 26 years old. If people can’t change, there is no point to any of this.
I agree. The only difference between me and Bush is that I got lucky.
He’s scum of the earth and yet continue to be afforded the opportunity to make millions. I have zero respect for him. People with DWI’s in general should be locked up for a while and permanently lose their license
He makes John Rocker look like a virtuous person.
Matt Bush was locked up and did lose his license.
At what point is someone not redeemable? He served his time, the victim forgave him, and this was so long ago. Are you saying people can’t change?
Triple A? I need carpenter at my house.
why, can he hit nails?
That’s what his name implies.
Regarding Matt Bush: the sheer desire to play the game to do whatever it takes to get back to the game is something I marvel at.
What’s really surprising with Matt Bush is after all these years the most cash he’s made is the 3 million signing bonus back in 2004. Bush has a great story for sure. I remember reading a article on it awhile back.
carpenter is a veteran. he should well know what was going on.
Matt bush crushed someone’s skull and left them for dead abused woman and has multiple dui
He should be banned for life not celebrated
He did his time and turned his life around.
Hang it up Charlie
We get to watch Culberson again, i can barely contain myself
I will always passionately support Bush, and this comment section shows why. The man turned around hia life for the better, unlike a lot of sports players who never really show any personal growth after misdeeds.
Its this new way of thinking that people think one mistake or one dark time in someone’s life defines them.
What defines a person is how they recover and evolve.
One mistake? Are you referring to the time he beat a kid with a golf club, physically assaulted a woman, or ran over the head of a 72 year old man while driving drunk without a license? Just trying to establish your threshold for your “one mistake”?
Matt Bush did many terrible, selfish things as a young man — often under the influence of alcohol.
But those who know and deal with him, many of whom have had to deal with negative consequences of his actions, would tell you he’s a different person today.
I refuse to adopt a worldview that denies the possibility that an individual can learn and grow from their mistakes and ultimately change for the better.
I said one mistake or one dark time, try finishing the sentence mate.
What do you suggest we do with him? Lock him up and throw away the key? Prevent him from changing his life, rehabilitation and providing for himself/family?
That will certainly fix things!
My bad Mate! I didn’t know your definition of “one dark time” could possibly be 2004-2012…
I’m saying throw away the key, I’m just saying I am not rooting for someone who made choices for almost a decade that constantly destroyed the lives of nearly everyone he came in contact with.
Mate!
Bush served 3 years in prison, followed by 7 years probation. Sounds like a lot of you would prefer he doesn’t get a second chance at life. Guess it would be better if he couldn’t land a decent job, and had to live off of government subsidies, or perhaps continue his criminal behavior, return to prison, and again, survive on our tax dollars. That’s just stupid.
@HALfromVA People are hard on convicts and there is nothing for them after their incarceration. That is why convicts are usually end up back in prison because of the harshness the real world endures on them. The struggle for a guy like Bush is real. To make it to the majors after years of battling the harshness of the world, is a huge accomplishment on his behalf. Not many can say they got a second chance and took advantage of it. Last guy I can remember in any sport to get a second chance after prison was Micheal Vick. Hopefully Bush has better luck than Vick did at the pro level.
Anyways, I hope Bush has a few good years before age catches up to him. If he can be a solid contributor at 40, I don’t see why he could play as long as Dennis Eckersley did. He played until age 43 or 45. Tommy John surgery has helped other guys that have gone through it. Maybe Bush ends up being another one that seems better after a Tommy John than before. I am rooting for the guy regardless of his past misfortunes. The guy has done his time and worked harder than any of us to get a chance to be on the opening day roster. He did a lot to get there and it’s hard to not root for him.
Do know how many chances he’s already had? It’s waaaaay beyond a second chance at this point, don’t obscure the issue.
So what you are saying is that he should be permanently banned for his past mistakes? I mean, he’s done everything he could to convince a team he is a better person. He has worked his arse off after a major arm surgery and battled diversity through it all. I think he deserves what he worked so hard for regardless of the past. Everyone has done something in their life we regret and may haunt us for the mistakes made. How we overcome that, depends on our grit. He has shown his grit and done everything right to get where he is. Give a guy a break. Critics like you are way it’s harder for convicts to be accepted into society
He is potentially a danger to those around him if he drinks. Are you aware of his history? Sometimes your behavior burns out your chances and you can’t be trusted. But go ahead, if you want, hire a thief to handle you money cuz “they deserve a second chance”. It is legit to NOT TRUST someone who has repeatedly ruined chance after chance. Is it not fair for an employer to question whether or not a person has actually reformed or are they simply obligated to give chance after chance and continue to get burned?. No one gets an unlimited amount of chances, which is what you are promoting. Let him get a job in a factory.
Not sure what your idea of unlimited chances is. The guy served 3 years in prison, and hasn’t had a issue, legally, since. Seems like he learned from his mistakes, and has turned his life around, but go ahead and be that guy that wishes the worst for someone that tries to turn their life around. Being bitter must be exhausting.
Bush been sober for 10 years now. He understands better than anyone the importance of his sobriety and knows better than anyone what his alcoholism cost him and others.
Bush deserves to be held accountable for his mistakes of the past, but he has been. He spent more than three years in prison and had to deal with the type distrust expressed in your post for years after his release.
At the end of the day, we either believe people can change or we don’t.. Doing so comes with the risk of putting your faith in the wrong people. But the reward of helping someone turn their life around outweighs that risk.
I really respect Carpenter’s attitude. He’s made a lot of money and had a lot of success, but in recent years, he has not been the same type of player. He committed to overhauling his swing and wanted to come back home. A lot of guys, when learning they didn’t make the cut, would find a way to blame the team. Instead, he humbled himself and said he needed more time and was willing to continue to work. That’s the type of guy I want in my organization, and the type who a lot of those young prospects can look up to. Proud of you, Matt. I hope you roll out the type of productivity from your peak years with the Cards, but even if that doesn’t happen, there’s purpose in what you’re doing and why you’re here. Trust that.
Maybe this is Texas way of saying but not saying, “hey man, you can’t play at the highest level anymore.” Maybe Texas offers him a position as a hitting instructor before the end of the season. It’s about all he can contribute at this point in his career.
Should help push Texas to the top of the AL West. Carpenter will work on this swing and be back in the league in no time, helping the Rangers make the playoffs.
I like Matt Carpenter. He worked hard to become an established Major Leaguer and even an all star. Nothing was given to him. He earned it all. However, watching him the past couple of seasons, I don’t know how you can come up with any other outcome than he simply being done. You can revamp a swing all you want, but if you lack bat speed and play poor defense, I just don’t know what your place is. If 18 spring training at bats aren’t enough, I’d say you can take a look at his last 800 regular season at bats and get a pretty good idea of the type of production you’ll get from him. Again, much respect for him, but probably time to consider hanging it up.
Matt Bush throws gas. Great story. Learned his grade in Cali penal league
it amazes me at the ppl that wanna make excuses for guys like hamilton and bush who have addiction issues and have hurt ppl physically and mentally bc they paid their debt. but turn around and wanna crucify bonds and clemens based on some kind of imaginary moral high ground. u can get drunk and run ppl over, u can snort coke off strippers and hit ur kids thats ok but dont do steroids and hit homers, ur going to hell for that. contradictory hypocrit much?
I think the difference is that one group misbehaved outside of baseball and the other did so WITHIN baseball.
Matt Bush is not the scum of the Earth. He’s not the greatest person in the world.
Lucky, that he is. He could have also been dead by now, rotting in some heckhole jail for life, or have been a 3-time All-Star SS with millions of fans.
There is a backstory here that some know, most don’t, but nothing that excuses a few of his actions in life. All told, it is hard to believe that he has endured to make a roster at age 36.
Bush’s story somewhat mimics that of former SS Todd Cruz, but his old crew hopes it ends better.
While Matt’s pick was a cheapskate Padres ownership decision to save on paying a pitcher’s then-giant bonus, he also had wondrous physical gifts that gave some support to his “One – One” draft station. We figured he had squandered the last of them. Not yet.
That’s Matt “F’n” Bush.
I was in law enforcement for 25 years, including at the Federal level. I have had contact with many future, present, and past convicts. There ARE people for whom the penal system actually works, but that only happens when such people are committed to getting their life in order and walking the straight and narrow. Someone who does that successfully should be lauded, not damned by the court of public opinion. Do I like the crimes Bush committed while drinking? No, they were incredibly selfish, reckless, and irresponsible. Do I respect him if he has genuinely and sincerely repented of his past? Heck yes. The more we treat such people badly the less likely they will be to become productive members of society and an asset to society.
To all you who damn Matt Bush, maybe you should look at yourself and consider the old saying “There but for the grace of God go I.”. Also, you would probably benefit from reading John 8:3–11.