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Glenn Otto

Astros Sign Glenn Otto To Minor League Contract

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The Astros signed right-hander Glenn Otto to a minor league deal, the team informed reporters (X link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). Otto is going on the Triple-A injured list but could serve as rotation or long relief depth later in the year.

Otto is a Rice product whom the Yankees selected in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. New York packaged him in the Joey Gallo trade with the Rangers. Otto debuted with Texas in 2021 and held a rotation spot for the bulk of the following season. He started 27 games during his first full year, pitching to a 4.64 ERA through 135 2/3 innings. A Spring Training shoulder strain cost him a good chunk of 2023. Otto made six appearances, all in relief, and gave up 12 runs over 10 2/3 frames.

The Rangers designated Otto for assignment coming out of the trade deadline. The Padres grabbed him off waivers and kept him on the 40-man roster over the winter. His ’24 campaign has unfortunately played out much the same way as last year. Otto strained the teres major muscle in his shoulder and started the season on the IL. He made eight Triple-A appearances before going back on the IL on July 21. For the second straight year, he was pushed off a 40-man roster at the deadline. The Friars cut him loose as the corresponding move for their acquisition of reliever Jason Adam from Tampa Bay.

Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, so the Padres released Otto after the DFA. He’s evidently not fully recovered but nevertheless finds a landing spot with his hometown organization. Houston has been light on experienced non-roster rotation depth all season. Even if Otto’s recent shoulder woes limit him to a relief role this year, he could be a multi-inning bullpen piece.

Padres To Acquire Jason Adam From Rays

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The Padres acquired right-hander Jason Adam from the Rays in exchange for three prospects, per announcements from both clubs. The Padres are sending righty Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and catcher J.D. Gonzalez to Tampa. The Friars designated right-hander Glenn Otto for assignment to open a roster spot while the Rays reinstated Jeffrey Springs from the 60-day injured list to take Adam’s spot.

Like so many other players before him, Adam bounced around the league before finally becoming his best self in Tampa. He was drafted by the Royals back in 2010 and subsequently spent time in several organizations, including the Padres, as well as the Twins, Blue Jays and Cubs. He was non-tendered by the Cubs after 2021, at that point sitting on a 4.71 earned run average through 78 1/3 major league innings. He had struck out 27.9% of batters faced but also given out walks at a high rate of 11.4%.

The Rays signed him going into 2022 and he has taken his game to another level since then. He made 170 appearances as a Ray with a 2.30 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. He has 24 saves and 51 holds in that time. That includes 47 appearances this year with a 2.49 ERA. His 27.8% strikeout rate in 2024 is a few ticks below recent years but his 47.3% ground ball rate is a personal best.

All contending clubs are looking to bolster their bullpens at this time of year and that’s especially true of the Padres. Their relief corps has a combined ERA of 4.19, which places them in the bottom third of the league. They’ve received good results from Robert Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and others but guys like Wandy Peralta and Enyel De Los Santos have struggled, with Peralta currently on the injured list.

Adding Adam and his skills to that relief group is understandably appealing, as is his modest salary. Though he turns 33 years old next month, his long journey to being established at the major league level has led to him having a delayed path to notable earnings. He qualified for arbitration for the first time going into 2023 as a Super Two player and made $1.775MM last year, getting a modest bump to $2.7MM here in 2024. He is eligible for two more arbitration seasons before he’s slated for free agency after 2026.

The Padres had to make significant salary cuts in the offseason, which led to Juan Soto getting trading to the Yankees. They have still attempted to field a competitive team here in 2024 and have succeeded. They are currently on a seven-game winning streak that has bumped them to 57-50 and possession of a National League Wild Card spot. But they seemingly want to avoid the competitive balance tax this year and are currently on pace to do so.

RosterResource calculates their CBT number at $225MM, roughly $12MM away from the $237MM base threshold. That appears to give them a decent amount of wiggle room but that’s an unofficial estimate. Adam has less than a $1MM left to be paid out this year, so he will only marginally increase San Diego’s CBT number, perhaps leaving the front office room for further moves.

The Rays aren’t buried in the standings but have decided to do some selling this year anyway, seemingly due to a combination of strong depth as well as a seller’s market. Their record is currently 53-52, just four games out of a playoff spot, yet they have already traded multiple established big leaguers for younger talent. They have sent Zach Eflin to the Orioles, Aaron Civale to the Brewers, Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and now Adam to the Padres.

They still have a chance to compete down the stretch but have not been shy about making these kinds of moves, seemingly content to add some young talent and save some money while trying to backfill the lost talent from within their own system. With Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen nearing returns from elbow surgeries, they had readymade rotation replacements. Baz came up to take Civale’s spot and Springs is about to do the same for Eflin. Arozerena’s playing time can be given to guys like Richie Palacios or Jonny DeLuca, while the club always has intriguing bullpen arms on hand and can likely put together a solid relief corps even without Adam.

Lesko, 20, is viewed as the most intriguing part of their return in this deal. The Padres selected him 15th overall in 2022 and he has received plenty of love from prospect evaluators since then. His time in the minors has seen him miss plenty of bats but also the strike zone. He has thrown 69 2/3 innings over 16 starts at the High-A level this year with a 6.46 ERA. He has struck out 25% of batters faced but walked 16.5% of them.

Despite the control issues, he is still considered one of the better prospects in the league. FanGraphs currently lists him #88 overall and MLB Pipeline #76. Baseball America had him #38 overall coming into the year but he’s no longer on the top 100 and was recently bumped to #5 in the Padres’ system. Perhaps the Padres are moving on from a prospect that they have soured on or they have simply accepted this as the price of getting a quality reliever who is affordable and controllable. Either way, Tampa has a strong reputation of getting the best out of players and could perhaps get Lesko back on track in the years to come.

Bush is naturally the son of former big leaguer Homer Bush. The younger Bush was a fourth-round pick of the Padres last year. He is a speed-and-defense specialist with a contact-based approach at the plate. In 130 minor league games, he has seven home runs, a 9.5% walk rate and 15.7% strikeout rate, leading to a line of .290/.383/.379. He also has 65 steals in 76 tries. BA currently ranks him 12th in the Padres’ system.

Gonzalez was a third-round pick last year and BA currently ranks him #8 in the system. He is only hitting .205/.322/.230 in Single-A this year but is projected to potentially be a two-way player from behind the plate someday.

Otto was claimed off waivers in September. He began the year on the injured list with a right teres major strain. He began a rehab assignment in early June and was optioned later that month. He has tossed 15 1/3 innings in the minors this year with a 7.63 ERA. The Friars will have a few days to consider trades or put him on waivers.

The Padres have made a notable upgrade to their bullpen for the stretch run but surely aren’t done. Bob Nightengale of USA reports on X that they are now going to turn their attentions to the rotation. The Rays have already made a number of future-focused moves but could perhaps consider more, with players like Pete Fairbanks, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz candidates to go in the coming days.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Adam was heading to the Padres on X. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported Lesko’s inclusion on X. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on X that Bush and a third prospect were also going to Tampa. Joel Sherman of The New York Post first relayed Gonzalez on X.

Padres Select Jackson Merrill, Tyler Wade

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The Padres announced their active roster for the upcoming Seoul Series against the Dodgers. As was previously reported, San Diego officially selected the contracts of prospects Jackson Merrill and Graham Pauley. The Friars also added minor league signee Tyler Wade to their 40-man roster, which is up to 39 players.

San Diego placed a trio of players on the injured list. Infielder Tucupita Marcano landed on the 10-day IL. He tore his ACL last August and is nowhere near ready. Pitchers Luis Patiño and Glenn Otto each went on the 15-day injured list. Otto has a teres major strain in his throwing shoulder; Patiño is battling elbow inflammation. San Diego also optioned reliever Woo-Suk Go to Triple-A El Paso. He won’t be on the roster for the team’s series in his home country after allowing six runs in 4 1/3 innings this spring.

Merrill, 20, will open the year as San Diego’s starting center fielder. The top prospect earned that assignment with a .351/.400/.595 showing in 13 Spring Training contests. Merrill hit .277/.326/.444 with 15 homers in 511 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A a season ago. That’s impressive production given his youth, and Merrill was regarded as one of the better pure hitters in the minors.

There’s nevertheless plenty of risk with the move. Merrill didn’t log a single inning in center field in his minor league career and has yet to play above Double-A. San Diego hasn’t been afraid of aggressively promoting its top minor league talents in recent years. Merrill should slot between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar in the Opening Day lineup. San Diego is still looking into the possibility of a left field upgrade, as they were reportedly in contact with Tommy Pham over the weekend.

Wade, 29, gets back to the majors for what’ll be the eighth straight season. The lefty-hitting utilityman has primarily worked off the bench over his career with the Yankees, Angels and A’s. He appeared in 26 games with Oakland last season, hitting .255/.309/.314. Wade has a middling .217/.293/.300 batting line in just over 700 major league plate appearances.

He earned a season-opening roster spot with an impressive showing this spring. Wade hit .294/.351/.471 over 14 exhibition contests. The Padres aren’t counting on him to make much of an impact offensively, but he provides a speed and defense element off the bench. Wade can play virtually anywhere aside from catcher. He’ll offer a complement to Pauley at third base and Merrill in center field late in games. Wade is out of options, so now that he secured a 40-man spot, the Padres would need to expose him to waivers if they wanted to take him off the major league roster.

Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek nabbed a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. He should soon get an opportunity to make his major league debut, perhaps against the team that drafted him. Kolek was an 11th-round pick of the Dodgers in 2018. L.A. dealt him to the Mariners for cash early in the 2021 campaign. Kolek turned in a 3.76 ERA over 69 1/3 innings of relief between the top two minor league levels last season. He tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames this spring, albeit with four walks.

NL West Notes: Ahmed, Luciano, Machado, Otto, Treinen, Graterol

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The Giants entered camp seemingly poised to hand longtime top prospect Marco Luciano the keys to the shortstop position entering the 2024 season. With that being said, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle recently indicated that the tides could be shifting in that regard, noting that non-roster invitee Nick Ahmed has “taken the lead” in the race to be the club’s Opening Day shortstop.

Ahmed, 34 later this week, spent the past ten seasons in Arizona as a regular fixture at shortstop, earning back-to-back Gold Glove awards for his superlative defense in 2018 and 2019. He’s struggled to stay on the field in recent years, drawing just 264 trips to the plate between the past two seasons, and in that time slashed a paltry .216/.258/.332. Rough as his last two seasons were, Ahmed’s non-roster deal with the Giants came with the opportunity to earn a regular role in San Francisco, and the veteran has made the most of that opportunity by slashing an incredible .556/.667/1.222 in his 12 trips to the plate this spring without recording a strikeout across his four appearances.

Luciano, by contrast, has hit a paltry .071/.188/.071 in six games this spring, striking out in 56.3% of his plate appearances without recording an extra-base hit. While numbers during Spring Training must be taken with a grain of salt for a number of reasons and it’s worth noting that Luciano was slowed by a hamstring issue early in camp, it would nonetheless be understandable if the Giants felt that Luciano’s weak results this spring indicated that the 22-year-old needs more development time at the Triple-A level. Luciano made his big league debut with San Francisco last year but struggled at the plate in his cup of coffee, hitting just .231/.333/.308 with a 37.8% strikeout rate in 45 trips to the plate.

More from around the NL West…

  • Padres star Manny Machado is a “pretty safe” bet to be limited to DH duties during the Korea Series in Seoul later this month, manager Mike Shildt recently told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Machado underwent elbow surgery back in October and is coming off a relative down season by his standards, having slashed “just” .258/.319/.462 with a wRC+ of 114, a step down from the 140 wRC+ he posted across the previous three seasons. With Machado likely restricted to DH at-bats to open the season, the Padres appear likely to rely on a utility fielder like Matthew Batten or Eguy Rosario at the hot corner to open the season.
  • Sticking with the Padres, Acee also reports that right-hander Glenn Otto, who the club claimed off waivers from the Rangers back in September, came out of the offseason likely to compete for a spot in the club’s rotation this spring but has been sidelined during camp by a teres major strain. Acee notes that he’s “progressing” toward a return to the mound but does not elaborate on what the righty’s timetable for return is. Otto, who will celebrate his 28th birthday tomorrow, was a fixture of the Rangers rotation back in 2022 with a 4.64 ERA in 27 starts but has generally struggled in the majors with a career 5.62 ERA and a walk rate north of 10%.
  • While Dodgers right-hander Blake Treinen left yesterday’s game after being struck in the torso by a comebacker, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) that the veteran had avoided a major injury from the incident. Treinen was diagnosed with a bruised lung, which Roberts added should be healed within three to five days. That leaves Treinen likely to be available for Opening Day as a veteran option for the L.A. bullpen alongside the likes of Ryan Brasier and Daniel Hudson. Treinen has spent almost all of the past two seasons on the sidelines but owns a career 2.86 ERA and posted a 1.99 figure as recently as the 2021 season.
  • Sticking with the Dodgers, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya notes that right-hander Brusdar Graterol will not be joining the Dodgers for the Korea Series in Seoul later this month, as he’s been sidelined much of the spring by hip tightness and shoulder soreness, though Graterol downplayed the latter issue to reporters recently. Graterol added in conversation with reporters (including Ardaya) that he figures to resume throwing on Tuesday and hopes to be ready to join the Dodgers in time for their stateside opener against the Cardinals on March 28. Graterol was one of the club’s most effective relievers last season, pitching to a sensational 1.20 ERA in 68 appearances.

Padres Claim Glenn Otto, Designate Ben Gamel

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The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve claimed righty Glenn Otto off waivers from the Rangers, who designated him for assignment earlier in the week. San Diego designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment in a corresponding move.

Otto, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Yankees out of Rice University back in 2017. He went to the Rangers alongside Ezequiel Duran and Josh H. Smith in the 2021 trade that sent Joey Gallo from Arlington to the Bronx.

At the time of the swap, Otto was one of the more well-regarded prospects in the Yankees’ system, ranking 19th on New York’s top-30 list at Baseball America. He placed 15th among Rangers’ farmhands heading into the 2022 season, with BA labeling him a potential fourth starter who could likely be moved to the ’pen if things didn’t pan out in the rotation.

Otto has gotten looks in the Majors in each of the past three seasons with Texas, but he’s yet to find his footing. While the right-hander tossed 135 2/3 innings over 27 starts last year, he posted a rather pedestrian 4.64 ERA and fanned just 18.2% of his opponents against an unpalatable 10.6% walk rate along the way. He also struggled in six starts down the stretch following the trade in 2021, and he was hit hard in six bullpen appearances this year. Overall, Otto has pitched 169 2/3 innings in the Majors but carries just a 5.69 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout, walk and home-run rates (in addition to a roughly average ground-ball rate).

That said, there’s plenty in Otto’s minor league track record to give the Friars some optimism. He posted a strong 3.20 ERA in 96 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A during the 2021 season that saw him traded, and that year’s 35.3% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate in the minors were both excellent. Otto has never posted an ERA higher than 3.48 at any minor league level, and he’s punched out 32% of his total opponents in the minors.

Otto missed the first three months of the 2023 season due to a lat injury, so he’s pitched just 40 total innings this year. While his 10.13 ERA in the big leagues (12 runs in 10 2/3 frames) is an eyesore, he’s also posted a sharp 3.38 ERA with his typically promising strikeout tendencies (32.5%) in 29 1/3 Triple-A frames. Otto also has a pair of minor league option years remaining beyond the current season, plus an additional five years of team control remaining. Given that context, it’s not a surprise to see a Padres club that could lose a good bit of pitching depth this winter take a more or less free look at the former prospect.

San Diego, after all, could see each of Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill and Nick Martinez reach free agency this winter, either via the expiration of their current contracts or via opt-outs/player options that could be declined. The Padres aren’t going to firmly bank on Otto replacing anyone from that group, but he’s a controllable depth option who could earn his way into the mix and help patch some of those gaps. If nothing else, he could be called upon as a spot starter or extra bullpen arm next year in the event of injuries on the MLB roster.

As for the 31-year-old Gamel, he appeared in just six games with the Padres before today’s DFA. The veteran outfielder has been quite good between the Triple-A affiliates for San Diego and Tampa Bay, batting a combined .286/.402/.498 in 332 plate appearances, but the Friars are prepared to cut ties after just 15 plate appearances, during which Gamel collected three hits (two singles, one double).

In parts of eight Major League seasons between the Mariners, Pirates, Brewers, Padres, Guardians and Yankees, Gamel is a .252/.332/.384 hitter. He’s drawn walks at a healthy 10.1% clip but also fanned in just under a quarter of his plate appearances. Gamel is primarily a corner outfielder but lacks the prototypical power associated with those positions, evidenced by a career-high 11 home runs and a tepid .131 ISO in his career (slugging percentage minus batting average). Now that Gamel has been designated for assignment, the Padres will place him on outright waivers or release waivers within the next five days.

Rangers Select Ian Kennedy, Designate Glenn Otto For Assignment

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The Rangers announced a series of roster moves today, activating right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list and selecting the contract of fellow righty Ian Kennedy. In corresponding moves, righty Josh Sborz was placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain while righty Glenn Otto was designated for assignment.

Kennedy, 38, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and cracked the Opening Day roster. But he was lit up in the early going, allowing a 7.20 earned run average through 11 outings before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency but rejoined the Rangers on a new minor league pact. Since that time, he’s been posting fairly solid results in Triple-A, with a 3.51 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, along with a 29.4% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate.

After many years as an effective big league starter, Kennedy moved to the bullpen in recent years with inconsistent results. He had a 3.41 ERA in 2019 but saw that jump to an even 9.00 in 2020. He got back on track with a 3.20 mark in 2021 but it nudged up to 5.36 last year before this year’s aforementioned struggles.

The Rangers bullpen has been a nightmare of late, a key reason why their previously strong division lead has gone up in smoke. The relievers have let many recent games slip away in the late innings, pushing the club to third place in the division and just half a game ahead of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. For the season as a whole, the relief corps has a collective 4.86 ERA that places them 25th in the league. They will mix things up by getting the veteran Kennedy into the mix to see if he can help.

Otto, 27, got a shot at a rotation job with the Rangers last year, making 27 starts with a 4.64 ERA, 18.2% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate. The Rangers then underwent an extremely aggressive offseason, overhauling their rotation by acquiring pitchers like Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Jake Odorizzi. That would have squeezed Otto either to the minors or the bullpen but he suffered a lat strain in March and was placed on the 60-day injured list on Opening Day.

He was reinstated from the IL at the end of June and has made six appearances for the big league club since then, but six home runs in just 10 2/3 innings have led to an ERA of 10.13. He’s also tossed 29 1/3 Triple-A innings over 10 appearances with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 32.5% of opponents in the process.

Since the trade deadline has passed, the Rangers will have no choice but to put Otto on waivers in the coming days. He’s not too far removed from being a notable prospect. In 2021, he registered a 3.20 ERA over 95 2/3 innings in the minor leagues, going from the Yankees to the Rangers in the Joey Gallo trade that summer. He went into 2022 ranked as the #15 prospect in the Rangers system.

Though he then had some tepid results that year and has been injured for much of this year, he could perhaps garner interest based on that previous prospect status. He still has two option seasons beyond this one and has yet to qualify for arbitration. That means he could be an intriguing depth arm for any club willing to give him a roster spot.

Rangers Reinstate Glenn Otto, Brad Miller

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The Rangers announced they’ve reinstated pitcher Glenn Otto and utilityman Brad Miller from the injured list. John King, Yerry Rodríguez and Sam Huff were all optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, the latter move clearing active roster space for newly-acquired Aroldis Chapman.

Otto returns from the 60-day injured list, reclaiming a 40-man roster spot. Texas has had a vacancy in that regard since designating Sandy León for assignment a few weeks ago. He’s in line for his season debut, missing the bulk of the first half with a lat strain.

The right-hander figures to assume a multi-inning relief role for skipper Bruce Bochy. He was a starter last year, opening all 27 of his outings and working 135 2/3 innings. Otto posted a 4.64 ERA with middling strikeout and walk rates. With the Rangers overhauling their rotation last winter, he got pushed out of the top five. He’s looked great on a rehab stint with Round Rock, working to a 14:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowing only three runs in 10 innings.

Miller has been down for a month with a right oblique strain. The left-handed hitter has a .208/.304/.333 line in 56 trips to the plate on the season. He’ll return to a multi-positional role off the bench.

Rangers To Select Ian Kennedy, Travis Jankowski; Place Glenn Otto, Jake Odorizzi On 60-Day IL

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The Rangers announced to reporters, including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com (Twitter links), that they are selecting right-hander Ian Kennedy and outfielder Travis Jankowski to their 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, right-handers Glenn Otto and Jake Odorizzi will be placed on the 60-day injured list.

Kennedy, 38, spent many years as an effective starter but has made the transition to relief work recently. He started the 2021 season on a minor league deal with the Rangers and eventually made 32 appearances with the club, posting a 2.51 ERA while striking out 27.8% of batters faced. He got flipped to the Phillies and saw his ERA tick up to 4.13 after the deal but it was still a solid enough season that the Diamondbacks gave him a deal for $4.75MM plus incentives. Unfortunately for both sides, that didn’t work out, as he posted a 5.36 ERA last year with a 19% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 24.4% ground ball rate. He had to settle for a minor league deal this offseason but fared well in spring, registering a 2.25 ERA in eight innings, striking out eight opponents and walking three. He’ll give the Rangers an experienced hurler to add to their bullpen mix.

Jankowski, 32 in June, is a veteran outfielder who has appeared in each of the past eight major league seasons. He’s never really been much of a threat at the plate, as shown by his .236/.319/.310 career batting line. That amounts to a wRC+ of 77, indicating he’s been 23% below league average. However, he provides value on the basepaths and in the field. He’s stolen 72 bases in his 470 career games. His work in the outfield has been graded as worth +21 Outs Above Average, +16 Defensive Runs Saved and he has a mark of 11.0 from Ultimate Zone Rating. Leody Taveras was slated to be the club’s regular center fielder between Adolis García and Robbie Grossman but Taveras recently suffered an oblique strain. The club has some younger outfielders on the roster like Bubba Thompson and Ezequiel Durán but adding Jankowski will give them an experienced glove-first option.

The news on Otto isn’t terribly shocking, as it was recently reported he would be shut down for the next three weeks due to a lat injury and is still getting further testing. Even if that three-week shutdown period returned him to health, he would then need a few more weeks to ramp back up to game shape. As for Odorizzi, during that same update on Otto, general manager Chris Young gave the vague but ominous report that he’d be out “longer than shorter” due to arm fatigue. While no firmer diagnosis has been provided, it seems the club doesn’t expect him back in the next two months.

With Otto and Odorizzi both facing extended absences, starting depth will likely be an ongoing focus for the club. The rotation has plenty of talent in Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Jon Gray and Martín Pérez, but there’s also plenty of injury history in that group. For the next couple of months, the club’s rotation depth is probably going to be topped by Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning, though both of those hurlers seem set to start the season in the big league bullpen.

Rangers Shut Down Glenn Otto For Three Weeks

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Rangers general manager Chris Young provided some updates on injured pitchers to members of the media today, including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today (Twitter links). Right-hander Glenn Otto, who recently underwent an MRI for right lat tightness, will be shut down for three weeks and be re-examined by Dr. Keith Meister on Monday. As for right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who is dealing with arm fatigue and expected to start the season on the injured list, Young says he will likely be out “longer than shorter.” Elsewhere on the club’s pitching front, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports that righty Joe Barlow has been optioned to Triple-A, while righty Dominic Leone has been released from his minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Otto, 27, made 27 starts for the Rangers last year, posting a 4.64 ERA. He might have actually been lucky to keep runs off the board at that pace, as his 18.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate were both subpar, while his .255 batting average on balls in play was well below the .289 league average. The club pushed him down the depth chart with a busy offseason, acquiring Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney and Odorizzi.

Although Otto wasn’t likely to make the club’s roster on Opening Day, it’s still a notable subtraction from their starting depth. No team goes through an entire major league season using just five starters, meaning depth options will be used at some point. Otto still has a full slate of options, allowing the club to keep a guy with notable major league experience in Triple-A. Now he seems ticketed for an extended absence. Even if a three-week shutdown period helps him recover from his injury, he would then have to ramp back up at that point, which is why a trip to the 60-day IL seems to be on the table.

Compounding the issue is the fact that Odorizzi seems to slated for a significant absence as well. He was the club’s #6 starter behind deGrom, Eovaldi, Heaney, Martín Pérez and Jon Gray, and likely would have opened the season as a long man in the major league bullpen. It was already known that he was going to begin the season on the injured list due to arm fatigue, but it’s possible he’s a facing a meaningful absence. Young’s “longer than shorter” comment is incredibly vague but is obviously not encouraging.

Odorizzi split last year between Houston and Atlanta, making 22 starts between the two clubs. He posted a 4.40 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 31.7% ground ball rate. He exercised a $12.5MM player option in his contract but Atlanta flipped him to the Rangers, paying down $10MM of the deal while getting lefty Kolby Allard in return. Though Odorizzi’s 2022 numbers aren’t incredibly exciting, he’s better than the #6 starter on many clubs around the league.

Though the Rangers still have a healthy front five, they are now without two of their better depth options. That’s a notable development, given the injury histories of guys like deGrom, Eovaldi and Heaney. They have some other starters on the 40-man, such as Spencer Howard, Cole Winn, Zak Kent, Owen White and Ricky Vanasco, though Howard is the only one with any major league experience. He has a 7.09 ERA in his 111 2/3 MLB innings thus far. Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning are probably first in line for a rotation spot if one opens up, though they seem ticketed to start the season in the major league bullpen.

Turning to the relievers, Barlow has a 2.81 ERA in 64 major league innings over the past two seasons. It’s somewhat surprising to see him optioned after that performance, but Landry relays that both Young and Barlow mentioned that his velocity is down. He underwent wrist surgery in November and could be still building up his strength or perhaps his mechanics have been altered post-surgery. Either way, he’ll head to the minors to try to get into a good groove.

Leone, 31, is a veteran who has appeared in each of the past nine seasons. He made 55 appearances for the Giants last year with a 4.01 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 38.9% ground ball rate. He tossed 8 1/3 innings here in spring with a 2.16 ERA, but he walked eight batters while striking out five. It seems the Rangers didn’t have a spot for him and will let him return to the open market to look for his next opportunity.

Glenn Otto To Undergo MRI On Right Lat Muscle

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The Rangers’s rotation depth has been dealt another blow, as right-hander Glenn Otto, who was scratched from his start yesterday with “right lat tightness”, tells reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that he is set to undergo an MRI on the muscle after feeling more soreness this morning.

Otto, who celebrated his 27th birthday last week, made 27 starts for the Rangers last year, pitching to a 4.64 ERA that was 15% below league average by ERA+. Underlying metrics further underscore Otto’s struggles last year, as he posted a strikeout rate of just 18.2% against a 10.6% walk rate, with a whopping 8.9% of his batted balls allowed resulting in barrels. All that added up to a 5.21 FIP, more than half a run higher than his ERA. Given that performance, its no surprise that Texas’s offseason spending spree on starters that saw them acquire Jake Odorizzi, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi while re-signing Martin Perez pushed Otto out of the rotation picture. Still, Otto figured to compete for a roster spot with Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning following the announcement that Odorizzi would begin the season on the injured list.

Though Otto was far from the favorite to secure that roster spot, it’s worth noting that virtually every team needs depth starters throughout the regular season, and Otto was sure to make appearances in the big leagues at some point this year even if he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. That’s especially true for the Rangers, who have a starting five featuring a handful of players who have missed significant time in recent years: deGrom and Heaney both failed to clear 75 innings of work last year, while Eovaldi has pitched more than 111 innings just once since the end of the 2016 season.

Should Otto join Odorizzi on the injured list to open the season and miss significant time, that lines Ragans and Dunning up for a battle to be the long man out of the Rangers’s bullpen to open the season, with the other likely headed to Triple-A to serve as a depth starter alongside Spencer Howard. That being said, it’s worth noting that both Eovaldi and deGrom are expected to open the season on limited pitch counts, meaning it could behoove the Rangers to carry both Ragans and Dunning into the season in order to have more long relief options available to shoulder the additional workload while Eovaldi and deGrom ramp up.

While few details regarding Otto’s injury are available, MLB.com notes that lat strains come in three grades, with the mildest ones requiring a recovery time of just a few weeks while the most severe ones can require surgery and a lengthy rehab afterward. With such a wide range of possible outcomes, it’s impossible to predict the outcome of Otto’s MRI, the severity of his injury, or the timetable for his return to action.

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