The Rangers announced that they have signed first baseman Jared Walsh, infielder Matt Duffy and left-hander Blake Taylor to minor league deals. All three deals come with invites to major league Spring Training. Walsh and Taylor are repped by ISE Baseball, Duffy by TWC Sports.
Walsh, 30, once looked like a mainstay of the lineup for the Angels. He hit nine home runs in the shortened 2020 season and then added another 29 the year after. His .280/.338/.531 batting line in that time translated to a wRC+ of 130, indicating he was 30% better than the league average hitter. He wasn’t considered a strong defender but the bat was clearly enticing.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been anywhere near that level since, with injuries holding him back. He hit .215/.269/.374 in 2022, with that season ultimately ended by thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. He returned in 2023 but battled neurological issues, including insomnia and headaches, something he discussed with Sam Blum of The Athletic in May. He hit just .125/.216/.279 in 39 major league games last year, getting passed through waivers twice. The second such instance was in October and he elected free agency afterwards.
For the Rangers, they have Nathaniel Lowe at first base but don’t have a strict designated hitter. If Walsh were able to get over his recent health issues and return to that strong form he showed a few years ago, he would be a candidate to take over the bulk of the DH at-bats, while also providing depth for a possible Lowe injury. If he were to get back in form and earn himself a roster spot, he could be retained for future seasons via arbitration, though he is out of options.
Duffy, 33, is a veteran utility guy. He spent 2023 with the Royals and hit .251/.306/.325 in his 209 plate appearances for a wRC+ of 72. That offense is obviously subpar, but he provided the club with defensive versatility. He spent some time at all four infield positions and even tossed two innings of mop-up duty on the mound. He’s also played a bit of left field in previous seasons.
The Rangers have Lowe at first, with the rest of the infield set to be filled out by Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Josh Jung. They also have infielders like Ezequiel Durán, Jonathan Ornelas, Josh H. Smith and Justin Foscue on the roster, but Duffy will add a bit of veteran non-roster depth.
Taylor, 28, pitched in 92 major league games for the Astros over the 2020 to 2022 seasons. He allowed just 3.06 earned runs per nine frames over 79 1/3 innings combined, but a bit of luck may have been involved. His 19.1% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate were both a few ticks worse than average, while his .249 batting average on balls in play and 79.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side. His 4.65 FIP and 4.94 SIERA each suggest he may have deserved worse results than the ERA might indicate.
In 2023, he began the year on the injured list due to a left elbow strain. He was activated a couple of weeks later and optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. He made 35 appearances for the Space Cowboys with a 5.15 ERA, 14.9% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate. He was released in August.
The Rangers lost lefties Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith to free agency and then non-tendered Brett Martin. Their southpaw relief contingent now consists of Brock Burke, Jake Latz and Antoine Kelly. They could also have Cody Bradford back there if he’s not working out of the rotation. Taylor will give them some non-roster depth with a bit of major league experience under his belt. If he is able to earn his way back to the majors, he does have one option year remaining.
I thought Duffy retired
Maybe he did til he saw opportunity to reunite with Bochy.
That was Patrick Duffy. Also in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
Patrick Duffy the dad on step by step.
So, this is their elite lefty acquisition??? I thought it would be Hader. At least, he has been good at run prevention in the MLB, though with awful peripherals.
When did Bruce Bochy or Chris Young say the World Series Championship winning Rangers would be adding an “elite lefty acquisition?”…If you didn’t hear it from them you cannot necessarily believe it.
It was national writers expecting them to get Hader plus MLBTR guys. I guess those were just predictions without specific knowledge. I noticed that 95% of guys Texas has gotten in the last decade plus have been guys they haven’t been connected to by name for more than 24 hours prior to the acquisition (trade or signing).
yes. national writers and MLBTR guys and everyone else under the sun all heard and said the same thing… that is until Chris Young came out and said no big spending this off-season. and it’s been exactly that.
I don’t put much stock in the National writers. They have deadlines and daily space to fill so they have to write something, even if there’s little merit, truth or value in their reporting. After spending over a BILLION dollars the last few years(and winning the WS), my own common sense and knowledge of MLB told me TX would be fiscally restrained this off-season.
this guy gets it. CY still bring in Robertson is sweet
This post was just before that brilliant guy got us Robertson. Going from a save rate of 48% to even just 68% nets about 10 fewer blown saves and 7 or 8 more wins. That’s for about 15-16 MM (Yates and Robertson)! Budget % wise, it’s well worth it.
Walsh was a two-way player at one point. Pitched relief for the Angels in Spring Training. This could a sneaky Hader and Lowe package wrapped in one! … Or not.
Bochy used to smile so much talking about Duffy. Only guy I saw him more excited about was when he managed the all star game and had degrom pitching
Love you boch!
Nice to see Jared Walsh get another shot. Dude has been thru hell.
And watch him break out as a home run stud. Although, I’m perfectly happy with Schanuel at the moment.
Walsh, Duffy and Taylor, if they can’t play baseball they’re a hell of a law firm
They got nothing on Pearson Spector Litt
Sucks to see Walsh have his abilities taken away by illness. Really hope he gets back to his old form.
I hope Walsh has a chance at being good again. He was great a couple years ago.
Walsh went from a minor league Babe Ruth to a minor league signing in just 5 years.
This game will humble you in 2 seconds. Jimmy Dugan, “it’s the hard that makes it great.”
Is Danny Duffy still around in the minors?
I thought he was getting close to being useful in August or September
I think he is a free agent. His walk issues were horrifying, in spite of his good ERA.
Rangers repeat confirmed.
Why do you people post the same tired jokes every day? Minor league signing, here comes the championship jokes. Major league signing, here comes the deferred money jokes. Be original man. Or keep it in your back pocket.
Tommy, I gotta admit that I’d rather read a cheesy stale joke than another negative retort.
I’d like to think Brian jumped up and down when he felt his Rangers were three minor league acquisitions away from a difficult repeat championship. When he saw Walsh, Duffy, and that last beautiful piece of the puzzle, Blake Taylor, sign with Texas, I’d like to think Brian cried a little. You Go Brian.
If this was 2021, I would’ve loved this deal.
But no. It’s not.
I hope Walsh does well, dude went through some crap.
Happy for Duffy. A reunion with Bochy. Bochy knows exactly what Duffy can do & help.
2015 Duffy was pretty good. He just never could stay healthy since to replicate that season. Still a good guy to have on the bench though.
So this is what CY thinks of the team? This and David Robertson? Yea we won the WS cause we got lucky and had several players with career years, and how do we attempt to repeat – let’s get some no name players, over pay an old reliever, sign a starter that won’t even pitch the first half, and not address the DH spot… Oh yea, and let the one good reliever sign with your division rival that you struggle to beat… Am I missing anything?
Damn Walsh fell off hard. I completely missed he was even dropped by LA
He has thoracic outlook syndrome, the same thing that has prevented strasburg from playing he did get surgery so hopefully he can make a comeback.
Ah dang that sucks to hear. I hope he can come back as well…