The Rangers announced yesterday that they’d avoided arbitration with reliever Josh Sborz, as the two sides agreed to a one-year, $1.1MM contract for the 2025 season. However, the right-hander is going to miss a big chunk of the season after recently undergoing a shoulder debridement surgery, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports (X link). Sborz is expected to miss the first two or three months of the 2025 campaign while recovering.
It isn’t surprising that Sborz went under the knife, as an ailing shoulder limited him to only 16 1/3 innings and 17 appearances out of the Texas bullpen last year. Sborz was sent to the injured list four separate times — twice due to a right rotator cuff strain, and then twice due to fatigue in that same shoulder. He pitched just once after August 7, and he told Grant at the end of the season that he was going to consult Dr. Neal ElAttrache to try and “get clarity” about the root of his shoulder issues.
Sborz earned a $1.025MM salary in 2024, and was projected to get just a slight bump up to a $1.3MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility. Undoubtedly the surgery was a factor in Sborz agreeing to an even more minimal raise, though the agreement does give him some contractual piece of mind as he can now focus on a lengthy rehab process. The Rangers probably at least thought about non-tendering Sborz in the wake of the surgery, yet $1.1MM isn’t a huge amount of money to invest, plus Sborz is also arb-controlled through the 2026 season.
Sborz (who turns 31 in December) has pitched in parts of the last six MLB seasons, breaking into the Show with the Dodgers in 2019 before the Rangers acquired him prior to the 2021 season. He posted a 3.97 ERA over 59 innings with Texas in 2021, though elbow problems factored into a 6.45 ERA over only 22 1/3 frames in 2022, and Sborz also had a 5.50 ERA in 52 1/3 innings in 2023.
It adds up to a 4.86 ERA over his time in Arlington, though with a much more impressive 3.46 SIERA. Sborz’s numbers are somewhat inflated by his issues keeping the ball in the park, as well as some unfortunate batted-ball luck (primarily a .396 BABIP during that rough 2022 season). A 10% walk rate also hasn’t helped, but Sborz has missed a good number of bats, as indicated by his 28.7% strikeout rate. The 2023 season was particularly inconsistent for Sborz, though he got on track when the Rangers needed him most — Sborz had an 0.75 ERA in 12 playoff innings to help Texas secure the World Series title.
Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc, Jose Urena, and Andrew Chafin are all free agents, so rebuilding the bullpen is a priority for the Rangers this winter. Retaining a familiar face in Sborz will add one piece to the puzzle, even if it’ll be a while before Sborz is able to make his 2025 debut.
Very little risk, high reward in this. When he’s in good health he is a high leverage arm.