Rangers Outright Kyle Cody, Edwar Colina
The Rangers announced they’ve selected the contracts of infielder Ezequiel Duran and right-handers Ronny Henriquez and Ricky Vanasco. Additionally, righties Kyle Cody and Edwar Colina have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Round Rock.
Duran was among the most important pickups from the Yankees in this past summer’s Joey Gallo trade. Baseball America ranked him fifth in the Texas system midseason, praising his bat-to-ball skills and power. The 22-year-old struggled with the Rangers after a scorching start in the Yankees’ system, but he always seemed like a lock to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. The Dominican Republic native hit .267/.342/.486 over 471 plate appearances at High-A this past season. Duran hasn’t yet reached Double-A, so he’s likely to spend most or all of next season in the minors.
Henriquez and Vansaco appeared on the back half of BA’s midseason top 30 Rangers’ prospects. Henriquez split the 2021 campaign between High-A and Double-A, struggling with home runs but posting quality strikeout and walk numbers at the latter stop. Vansaco missed the year recovering from Tommy John surgery but is regarded as a potential mid-rotation starter.
Neither Cody nor Colina have the service time to reject an outright assignment, so both will remain in the organization as non-roster depth. Cody owns a 3.71 ERA/4.58 SIERA over 34 major league innings since the start of 2020. Colina has pitched in just one MLB game and was recently claimed off waivers from the Twins.
Rangers’ Kyle Cody Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
Rangers right-hander Kyle Cody underwent a labral debridement procedure on his injured right shoulder, the club informed reporters (including Jeff Wilson). He’s expected to miss the first half of next season.
Cody missed almost all of this year due to the injury that necessitated today’s procedure. He landed on the injured list on April 25 with shoulder inflammation and was never able to make it back to the diamond. Today’s development unfortunately ensures he’ll miss a significant portion of next season as well, meaning it’ll be well over a full calendar year between Cody’s most recent and next big league outings.
The 6’7″ hurler broke into the majors last season. Over the past two years, he’s tossed 34 innings over fifteen appearances in a swing capacity. Cody owns a solid 3.71 ERA despite strikeout and walk rates that are both a bit worse than league average (21.8% and 10.2%, respectively). He flashed a promising three-pitch mix in his limited look, though, and seemed to have a good chance at cracking an uncertain Texas pitching staff next year. That’ll now be put on hold for at least a few months.
Texas will need to reinstate Cody from the 60-day injured list over the offseason. He’ll occupy a spot on the 40-man roster throughout the winter but seems likely to wind up back on the 60-day IL at the start of next season. Cody isn’t on track to reach arbitration eligibility until the 2023-24 offseason.
Rangers Place Kohei Arihara on Injured List, Claim Jack Kruger
Before this afternoon’s game against the Mariners, the Rangers placed starter Kohei Arihara on the 10-day injured list with a right middle finger contusion. Utilityman Eli White has been recalled in his place. Additionally, Texas announced they’ve claimed catcher Jack Kruger off waivers from the Angels. Right-hander Kyle Cody was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster. Cody has a right shoulder impingement.
After a productive career with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Arihara signed a low-cost, two-year deal with the Rangers. His MLB career hasn’t gotten off to a good start, as the righty has worked to a 6.59 ERA/5.54 SIERA over his first seven starts. Arihara has thrown a decent amount of strikes, but his 6.3% swinging strike rate and 13.4% strikeout rate are among the worst in the league. He’s also been too susceptible to the home run ball, having coughed up seven dingers in just 28 2/3 innings. With Arihara on the shelf, the Rangers could turn to Hyeon-jong Yang or Kolby Allard to fill his spot in the rotation.
Kruger is a 26-year-old catcher who made his MLB debut with Los Angeles this year. Ironically enough, he lost his spot on the Angels’ 40-man roster when L.A. acquired fellow backstop Drew Butera from the Rangers for cash considerations earlier in the week. The two catchers will essentially wind up swapping places. Kruger has a .262/.309/.354 line in 560 career Double-A plate appearances.