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Rangers’ Leody Taveras Shut Down Due To Oblique Strain

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Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras is dealing with a “low-grade” oblique strain, general manager Chris Young tells Rangers beat writers (Twitter link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). He’ll be out for at least seven to ten days. It’s still possible Taveras will be ready for Opening Day, but that’ll obviously depend on how he mends.

Taveras, 24, rated as one of baseball’s top 50 or so prospects prior to making his 2020 debut, due largely to his speed and potential for standout glovework in center field. He managed only a .188/.249/.321 slash in 319 plate appearances from 2020-21 but broke out with a career-best .261/.309/.366 showing in 341 plate appearances during the 2022 season. That still checked in about seven percent worse than an average MLB hitter, by measure of wRC+, but given his overall defensive aptitude, that was solid enough to land him the likely everyday center field job in 2023.

Dating back to that 2020 MLB debut, Taveras in just over a full season’s worth of games (180) and turned in a sparkling 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average. He’s also gone 29-for-35  on the basepaths, swiping bags with a hefty 82.9% success rate. That impressive total comes despite Taveras sporting just a .280 career OBP at the moment. Between his speed, the slightly larger bases and new rules limiting pitchers throwing over to bases, Taveras has the potential to be a force in the stolen-base department if he can even replicate last year’s modest improvements in on-base percentage. To his credit, he slashed his strikeout rate from 32.2% down to 25.8%, so some of the improvement at the dish appears sustainable.

All that will depend on his health, of course. Even Grade 1 oblique strains can shelve players for around a month of action, but every injury instance is different. If Taveras’ current oblique issue is indeed minor enough that a 10-day down period will get him back into game shape, being ready on March 30 doesn’t seem out of the question.

If, however, it’s determined in seven to ten days’ time that Taveras still needs some down time, a season-opening IL stint becomes likelier. In that scenario, the Rangers could either move Adolis Garcia from right field back to center field, or they could keep Garcia in right and go with light-hitting speedster Bubba Thompson in center. Robbie Grossman has the inside track on left field work for Texas in 2023, but he’s not going to factor into any contingency plans in center, where he’s played all of 11 innings over the past seven seasons.

The Rangers have a deep but generally unproven collection of outfielders vying for a spot on the bench. Former top infield prospect Josh Smith has seen increasing time in the outfield and could conceivably work in some sort of platoon arrangement with Grossman in left field. Veterans Travis Jankowski and Clint Frazier are in camp as non-roster invitees, as is 28-year-old Elier Hernandez, who made his MLB debut with Texas last season. Utilityman Brad Miller has plenty of experience in the outfield corners, too, and slugger Dustin Harris is already on the 40-man roster as well.

AL West Notes: A’s, Ragans, Taveras

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The Athletics could deploy a six-man rotation this year, with general manager David Forst discussing the situation with Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ve mapped it out a lot of different ways,” Forst said. “Things that look like a six-man (rotation) or an occasional bullpen day or an occasional spot starter. There are a lot of ways to do it. I just don’t think we’ll know what they are until we get really into the season.”

At least one factor that is pushing the club in this direction is Shintaro Fujinami, who will be making the transition from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors. Pitchers in the NPB generally take the ball once per week, as opposed to the five-day schedule typically implemented in North America. Fujinami has also been occasionally deployed as a reliever in recent years, meaning his typical workload has been less than that of a typical MLB starter. The club also has many younger pitchers that could run into limitations throughout the season, depending on how things play out.

However the A’s decide to distribute their innings, it won’t be written in stone. “It will not be well-defined,” Forst said. “Whatever it is, we will not say Opening Night, ‘Here’s our six-man rotation, it’s staying like this.’ It will be flexible.”

Some other notes from the American League West division…

  • Lefty Cole Ragans is impressing in Rangers camp, with Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News relaying manager Bruce Bochy’s comments on the southpaw. “He’s just been a joy to watch,” Bochy said, adding that Ragans is “getting talked about a lot” in internal meetings. The lefty has shown increased stuff this spring, including hitting 99 mph with his fastball. “I didn’t go hunting velo this offseason,” Ragans said. “It wasn’t my goal to throw 100. I just wanted to feel good. I wanted to do what I could do.” Ragans had a strong year in the minors last year, posting a 3.04 ERA in 94 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He also made his MLB debut with a 4.95 ERA over nine starts. The club overhauled their rotation this winter by adding Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney and Jake Odorizzi to incumbents Martín Pérez and Jon Gray. Those moves bumped Ragans down the depth chart, but some of those guys are dealing with minor injuries, which could potentially increase Ragans’ chances of getting an opportunity. He could also perhaps get a big league job in the bullpen, with Bochy suggesting it’s good to stay open-minded about make such pivots.
  • Sticking with the Rangers, the club announced that outfielder Leody Taveras was scratched from today’s game due to left side tightness. To this point, it’s unclear how serious his ailment is, but Taveras is a noteworthy member of the club given the state of their roster. Though the rotation and infield appear strong on paper, the outfield has more uncertainty to it. Taveras has appeared in the past three seasons, hitting at a below-average level but impressing with the glove. In 174 games in center field, he’s posted 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average. He’s set to be the top option up the middle for the club, flanked by Adolis García and Robbie Grossman in the corners. If Taveras needs to miss any time, García could move from right field to center. But wherever Garcia lines up, it would mean someone will get bumped up from a bench job into a regular role. The club’s outfield depth consists of players like Bubba Thompson, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran, Brad Miller and others. All of those guys come with question marks, so the club will likely be hoping that Taveras is fine after some rest and can return to regular action.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Slater, Groshans, Cabrera

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The start of spring training always brings plenty of reports of players experiencing ’tightness’ or ’discomfort’, and while many of those wind up being rather minor, the Rangers in particular are dealing with plenty of seemingly minor ailments this spring, as Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Star winter signing Jacob deGrom was experiencing left-side tightness early in camp, but is scheduled to now throw his first live bullpen session on Wednesday, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Fellow off-season recruit Nathan Eovaldi is also experiencing some left-side tightness, and is taking a few days off. Jon Gray was a late scratch from Friday’s spring game with back tightness, while Jake Odorizzi is dealing with arm fatigue and is a bit behind in his schedule. It doesn’t stop there, as Jose LeClerc and Owen White are both feeling neck tightness.

There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of concern within the Rangers, and instead it seems the team is just being extra cautious so early in the spring. “When we started spring, in addressing the pitchers especially, we said, ‘Hey, in the early part here, let us know. Anything going on, we don’t want any major setbacks. We can back off at this time.’ Spring training can be pretty long, so in the early part, you’re going to be a little bit more cautious,” manager Bruce Bochy said Friday.

Here’s some more bits and pieces from around baseball:

  • Austin Slater had an MRI on his elbow but it came back clear, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants announced during the week that Slater would rest for a week with elbow neuritis. The news that the MRI is clear is certainly a positive one for Slater, and it seems it won’t be long before he’s able to make his spring debut for the team. Slater hit .242/.337/.392 with seven home runs across 259 plate appearances for San Francisco last season, and looks set to serve as a bench bat for the Giants with Joc Pederson, Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski to get the bulk of the outfield reps.
  • The Marlins are giving youngster Jordan Groshans time at first base this spring, as Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports. Groshans typically handled the other infield spots coming up through the minors, and spent just 40 previous innings at first. Groshans is on the fringes of cracking Miami’s opening day roster, but if he can show he can handle first adequately it would certainly provide a boost to his chances. A first round pick by the Blue Jays in 2018, Groshans came over to the Marlins in the Anthony Bass deal last year. He got a brief cup of coffee in the big leagues, hitting .262/.308/.311 across 65 plate appearances. With Garrett Cooper, Joey Wendle, Luis Arraez and Jean Segura fairly well locked in as Miami’s infield starters, there’s no obvious path to a starting job there but the Marlins bench is a lot less certain, providing Groshans with a solid chance to stick on the active roster to begin the season.
  • Speaking of positional changes, the Yankees are planning to give Oswaldo Cabrera some time in center field this spring, Aaron Boone told the YES Network’s broadcast during today’s game against the Rays. Cabrera impressed during his rookie year, posting a respectable .247/.312/.429 line with six home runs across 171 plate appearances. Yet it was his defense that really stood out, as Cabrera, an infielder for almost all of his career, took to the outfield extremely well, earning nine Defensive Runs Saved for his work on the grass. That’s put him firmly in the race with Aaron Hicks, Estevan Florial and Rafael Ortega to be the Yankees’ opening day left fielder. It does seem more likely he winds up in a utility role though, covering the infield, corner outfield spots, and now, perhaps, center field.

Rangers Sign Will Smith

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8:49AM: Smith will earn $1.5MM in guaranteed money, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).  Up to $2.5MM in bonus money is also available, related to incentives based on total appearances and games finished, indicating that Smith might indeed get some consideration for a closer role.

8:03AM: The Rangers announced that veteran left-hander Will Smith has been signed to a one-year, Major League contract.  Infielder Mark Mathias has been designated for assignment to create space for Smith on the roster.

After spending the latter portion of the 2022 season with the World Series champion Astros, Smith now joins the Lone Star State’s other team.  The Braves traded Smith to Houston at the trade deadline, which seemed to get the veteran on track after a rough start to the season.  Smith posted a 3.27 ERA over 22 innings with the Astros, and cut down drastically on the walks and home runs that plagued him earlier in the year with Atlanta.

Though he didn’t pitch for the Astros in the postseason, Smith still earned his second consecutive championship ring, after also being part of Atlanta’s World Series-winning squad in 2021.  The veteran lefty now joins a Rangers team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2016, but has invested heavily over the last two offseasons to upgrade the roster.  Bruce Bochy was hired as manager this winter to further bolster the club, and Smith is certainly familiar with his new skipper, having played under Bochy with the Giants from 2016-19.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in January, Smith’s move to Houston saw him make some changes in pitch usage and mechanics.  The southpaw’s success in the wake of those changes might’ve answered any doubts over whether or not Smith had anything left in the tank at age 33, and addressed concerns over his below-average walk and hard-hit ball rates for the season as a whole.  That said, there is probably also a reason why Smith remained unsigned until March 4, and there wasn’t even much public buzz about his market until a few weeks ago, when teams like the Tigers and Cubs reportedly showed interest.

For the Rangers, their need for left-handed bullpen depth increased when Brett Martin underwent shoulder surgery in January, as Martin might end up missing the entirety of the 2023 campaign.  Smith joins Brock Burke as the primary left-handed weapons in the Texas bullpen, with Smith probably likely to take a more traditional relief role while Burke returns as a multi-inning pitcher.  Taylor Hearn and minor league signings Danny Duffy and Joe Palumbo are also in camp, and Smith’s acquisition might squeeze one of the non-roster invitees out of a shot at the Opening Day roster.

Since Smith was a regular closer as recently as the 2021 season, it isn’t out of the question that the Rangers are eyeing him for another late-game role.  Texas is hopeful that Jose Leclerc or Jonathan Hernandez can fill late-game roles now that they’re fully healthy, but adding a veteran arm like Smith is also a shrewd depth move.  Smith pitched as a closer under Bochy in San Francisco in 2018-19, so the manager might opt to lean on a familiar face if the Rangers do choose to go with a set closer rather than a committee.

Texas acquired Mathias as part of the deadline deal that sent Matt Bush to the Brewers last August, and Mathias ended up appearing in 24 games as the Rangers played out the string.  In the small sample size of 74 plate appearances, Mathias hit very well (a .277/.365/.554 slash line), so that hot streak and his multi-positional ability gave the 28-year-old some hope of catching on with Texas in a utility role this season.  That scenario is still a possibility if Mathias can clear waivers, but with Robbie Grossman recently signed to bolster the outfield mix, the Rangers might prefer to see what the likes of Ezequiel Duran or Josh Smith can do as backup infielders.

Mathias has played in parts of two MLB seasons, with Milwaukee and Texas.  Originally a third-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Mathis has a strong .286/.377/.466 slash line over 715 career PA at the Triple-A level, so between that production and his spurt of offense with the Rangers last year, a club looking for utility help might be tempted to make a waiver claim.

Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers

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In conjunction with this entry in our annual Offseason in Review series, MLBTR will be conducting a Rangers-centric chat today at 11am. You can submit a question in advance, and be sure to check back to participate live.

The Rangers didn’t replicate last year’s half-billion dollar spending bonanza, but they sure didn’t let up in terms of aggression during Chris Young’s first offseason as the lead decision-maker for baseball operations.

Major League Signings

2023 spend: $82.15MM
Total spend: $265.65MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • None (yet)

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Rangers’ offseason was overseen by a baseball operations leader other than Jon Daniels. Ownership dismissed Daniels, who’d been one of MLB’s longest-tenured general managers/presidents of baseball operations, after 17 years on the job. The reins were handed to former big league pitcher Chris Young, who’s spent the past few seasons under Daniels and now has autonomy for the first time in his still-fledgling executive career.

One of Young’s first tasks was to replace manager Chris Woodward, whom Daniels had fired just days prior to his own dismissal, and it proved to be one of the highest-profile acquisitions of the winter for the Rangers. After trending toward less-experienced managers with their last two hires — both Woodward and Jeff Banister were first-time big league skippers in Texas — the Rangers instead hired one of the most experienced and well-respected managers in the game.

Bruce Bochy announced prior to the 2019 season that he planned to retire the following winter, although a year later he’d describe the situation differently, suggesting he was just “pressing the pause button” on his career and taking some time with his family. Indeed, Bochy’s managerial days appear far from over; he’s now the manager in Texas after inking a three-year deal to guide the Rangers out of what looks to be a short-lived rebuilding effort.

With a new dugout leader and revamped coaching staff in place, Young, a veteran of 13 big league seasons on the mound, set to work in building out the roster. While the 2021-22 offseason was focused largely on acquiring bats in the form of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, the 2022-23 offseason looked more like one engineered by a former big league hurler. Recent top picks like Owen White, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker and Cole Winn are looming, but the Rangers needed instant augmentation for a rotation that ranked 25th in the Majors in ERA during the 2022 season.

And, immediate augmentation they got. Young and his staff effectively acquired an entire rotation’s worth of veteran arms on deals ranging from one to five years in length, which should provide present-day stability while also creating organic opportunities for that burgeoning crop of minor league pitching talent to force its way onto the roster. First and foremost, the Rangers made a straightforward call to offer Martin Perez a $19.65MM qualifying offer after he posted a breakout 2.89 ERA in a team-high 196 1/3 frames. A year ago, a QO for Perez would’ve seemed unthinkable, but Perez earned it with his performance last season, and it’s a sensible short-term bet on a durable lefty who made clear he hoped to stay in Texas following last winter’s reunion.

That, however, only maintained the status quo. Further help was needed, and the Rangers wasted little time in securing it. A five-year, $185MM deal for two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom shattered even the most bullish expectations; there was thought that deGrom could top Max Scherzer’s record $43.33MM annual value on a three-year deal or perhaps even on a four-year deal, but few observers could’ve foreseen a five-year term. The length of the deal perhaps tamped down the AAV a bit, but deGrom’s $37MM AAV was the second-largest for any pitcher in history at the time of the deal and still ranks third, trailing only Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who ostensibly replaced deGrom in Queens when he signed a two-year, $86.6MM pact.

The Rangers are taking pronounced risk with deGrom, who’s pitched just 156 1/3 innings and made 26 total starts over the past two seasons. That’s understandably dropped an injury-prone label on the longtime Mets ace, but it’s worth noting that prior to 2021, deGrom embodied the workhorse mentality. He made all 12 possible starts during the shortened 2020 season and, from 2015-19, averaged 30 starts and 192 1/3 innings per season (not including postseason workload).

When healthy, deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet. He has a 2.05 ERA, 35.5% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate over his past 645 1/3 MLB frames, and although his 2021-22 seasons were shortened he’s been even better in that time: 1.90 ERA with a ludicrous 44% strikeout rate against a 3.4% walk rate. The Rangers are placing a massive bet on deGrom’s ability to return to a full season’s workload, and the risk and contract are particularly shocking when considering that he’ll turn 35 in June. That said, deGrom is so talented that he might not even need to pitch a full slate of starts for the Rangers to feel good about the return on their investment.

The other rotation bets made by Texas were similar ceiling plays with substantial injury risk. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi looked primed for another four-year deal last June, when he was sporting a 3.16 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and deGrom-esque 3.6% walk rate through 12 starts and 68 1/3 frames. Back troubles landed him on the injured list, however, and while he returned a month later, Eovaldi worked with diminished velocity before going back on the injured list with a shoulder issue. He returned to toss 9 2/3 innings of one-run ball late in the season, but again, the velocity was down considerably; Eovaldi averaged 96.7 mph on his heater through June 8 but 94.5 mph thereafter.

Nonetheless, Eovaldi’s appeal is clear. He’s the rare hard-thrower who pairs that velocity with elite command; since Opening Day 2020, Clayton Kershaw is the only starting pitcher (min. 150 total innings) with a lower walk rate than Eovaldi. From Opening Day 2020 through June 8 of this past season, Eovaldi boasted a 3.61 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 4.2% walk rate in 299 innings. He’s twice had Tommy John surgery in his career, however, and the aforementioned loss of more than two miles per hour off his heater following back and shoulder injuries is an obvious red flag. Can he regain that lost velo while maintaining his elite command and holding up for a full starter’s workload? Eovaldi has just three seasons of 150-plus innings in his MLB career, but the Rangers were bullish enough on his outlook to surrender a draft pick in order to sign him, as he’d rejected a qualifying offer from Boston. (Texas also surrendered a pick for deGrom; they parted with their second- and third-highest selections in 2023 by making those signings.)

Even higher on the risk-reward spectrum is left-hander Andrew Heaney, who was limited to 72 2/3 innings by shoulder troubles last year but transformed from a tantalizing but homer-prone blend of strikeout-walk intrigue into a legitimate buzzsaw when he was healthy with the Dodgers in 2022. The Dodgers scrapped Heaney’s curveball in favor of a new slider, and opponents were utterly bewildered by the offering.

Heaney fanned a massive 35.5% of opponents against a 6.1% walk rate en route to a 3.10 ERA. He remained homer-prone, but among the 188 pitchers with at least 70 innings thrown in 2022 (relievers and starters alike), no one induced a higher swinging-strike rate than Heaney’s 16.8%. His 39.5% opponents’ chase rate on pitches off the plate trailed only Kevin Gausman (42.7%) and Emmanuel Clase (a superhuman 49.8%).

The Rangers’ new-look rotation is teeming both with upside and with injury risk. However, the risk factor with all these rotation investments wasn’t lost on Texas. The Rangers could surely have found a team interested in acquiring pre-arbitration righties Dane Dunning or Glenn Otto after each posted back-of-the-rotation results in 2022 (4.46 ERA in 153 1/3 innings for Dunning; 4.64 ERA in 135 2/3 innings for Otto). However, Young and his crew held onto both righties — and they also swung a trade to acquire veteran Jake Odorizzi from the Braves. Odorizzi exercised a hearty $12.5MM player option, but the Braves kicked in $10MM to facilitate the swap, leaving the Rangers on the hook for just $2.5MM. For a veteran who’ll likely open in a long relief/sixth starter role, it’s an eminently affordable price to pay (especially considering how solid Odorizzi was in 2022 prior to his trade to Atlanta).

It’s feasible that over the remaining month of spring training or the first few months of the season, other clubs will inquire on the availability of anyone from the Dunning/Otto/Odorizzi trio — especially as other injuries arise on teams with less depth than the Rangers possess. There’s no urgency for Texas to move any member of that trio, though, and the mere fact that an organization that was so pitching-starved in 2022 now has that type of depth is a testament both to the work of the front office and to the commitment of ownership to field a club capable of returning to postseason contention. The Rangers even went so far as to reportedly meet with Carlos Rodon after they’d already signed deGrom, but that match obviously never came to fruition.

Of course, the rotation is just one element of the roster, and it’d be fair to wonder whether the Texas front office put enough emphasis on the rest of the team. The Rangers allowed Matt Moore to depart for a division rival (Angels) after he turned in one of the most effective seasons of any reliever in MLB last year, and they’ve done nothing to concretely replace him. Recognizable names like Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Dominic Leone, Reyes Moronta and Zack Littell were signed to minor league deals, but none are guaranteed roster spots. Meanwhile, the Rangers are also expected to be without southpaw Brett Martin for most or all of the 2023 season, after he underwent shoulder surgery.

In their defense, the Rangers are hoping to get full seasons out of both Jose Leclerc and Jonathan Hernandez in 2023. Both righties missed substantial time in 2022 while mending from Tommy John surgery performed a year prior. That’s a huge boost to the relief corps, and last year’s quiet breakout from Brock Burke and strong showing from Joe Barlow give Bochy a quality group of arms in the late innings. Still, there was room for at least one more bullpen addition. Perhaps Young & Co. have one more strike up their sleeve and will swoop on a lefty like Zack Britton, Will Smith or Brad Hand — each of whom remains unsigned — but the lack of attention to the bullpen could come back to bite them.

Similar questions abound with regard to the lineup. Semien and Seager form a quality middle infield combo. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe had a breakout showing at the plate. Jonah Heim is an underrated option behind the dish. In the outfield, Adolis Garcia has a questionable approach at the plate but a tooled-up blend of power, speed and defense that’s tough to match. Leody Taveras didn’t hit much in 2022 but can play center field better than most.

Still, that only accounts for two-thirds of the lineup. Top prospect Josh Jung will get an opportunity at third base after shoulder surgery wiped out most of his 2022 season, but he’s yet to prove himself as a big league regular. There was clear room to add a regular in left field, but the Rangers added Robbie Grossman after spring training had opened and will rely on him combining with Brad Miller, Josh Smith, Bubba Thompson, Mark Mathias and perhaps some non-roster invitees (e.g. Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski, Elier Hernandez) to round out the outfield. At designated hitter, the Rangers seem likely to rotate several members of that left field hodgepodge.

That said, Lowe’s glovework at first makes him a DH candidate, so Texas could’ve added at least one more first base/corner outfield type of bat to deepen the lineup. Given all the money spent on the rotation and all the risk they took on in that regard, it’s a bit puzzling that Texas essentially pulled some punches when addressing the lineup. A platoon with Grossman bashing lefties and one of the Rangers’ many lefty-swinging left field candidates could prove productive, but it’s an underwhelming conclusion to an offseason that featured so many fireworks on the starting pitching front. And, if Jung gets hurt again or looks overmatched at the hot corner, there’s little in the way of veteran depth to help offset the struggles. Miller is an option, but he’s a 33-year-old seeking a rebound on the heels of a poor 2022 showing.

Jung is a big-time prospect, and there are so many bodies in the left field/designated hitter mix that it’s possible this is all much ado about nothing a few months down the line. It’s equally plausible, however, that the Rangers find themselves in the market for some corner help to bolster the lineup this summer, and at that point, the lack of attention to the the lineup would only prove more glaring. This feels like an area where they should’ve placed some greater focus, but it’s admittedly tough to be all that critical of ownership’s spending after they invested $821MM over a period of just two offseasons.

Everyone in the AL West is looking up at the Astros. The Rangers, while improved, aren’t clearly better than the Mariners after Seattle ended a 20-year postseason drought in 2022. The Angels are an improved squad  as well. Even after all their spending dating back to last winter, a playoff berth is not a given for these Rangers.

It’s overwhelmingly clear, though, that this is the most formidable Rangers club we’ve seen in some time, and if they can improbably find themselves in a spot where deGrom, Eovaldi, Heaney and Jon Gray hold up for the bulk of the season alongside the more durable Perez, the Rangers could find themselves in the thick of the postseason race. You can question the risks they took, but this a team that’s clearly aiming to contend right now, and the pieces to do just that are in place — if they can avoid the injured list.

How would you grade the Rangers’ offseason?

Read The Transcript Of Today’s Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher Josh Lindblom

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Righty Josh Lindblom was drafted in the third round by the Astros back in 2005.  Instead of signing, he went to the University of Tennessee, and then after a year transferred to Purdue.  Lindblom was able to boost his draft stock during his time there, becoming the Boilermakers’ closer, and was chosen in the second round by the Dodgers in 2008.

Lindblom was quickly considered one of the Dodgers’ top prospects, and seemed on the fast track to the Majors.  He nearly made the team out of camp in spring training ’09, and saw phrases like “future closer” tossed around by Baseball America.

Lindblom reached the Majors in June of 2011 and ended up making 27 relief appearances with a 2.73 ERA that year for the Dodgers.  At the 2012 trade deadline, Lindblom was in the middle of a solid season when the Dodgers traded him and others to the Phillies for Shane Victorino.  After the season, the Phillies shipped Lindblom to the Rangers in a deal for Michael Young.

With the Rangers, Lindblom moved back to a starting role and made his first big league start against the A’s.  However, in December 2013, Lindblom was traded again, this time to the A’s.  He spent most of 2014 at Triple-A without much success, and was designated for assignment after the season.  The Pirates claimed him off waivers, but soon after he was released to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Lindblom made 62 starts from 2015-16 in KBO, and then signed a minor league deal to return to the Pirates after the ’16 season.  He made four big league relief outings for the ’17 Pirates, marking a gap of more than three years between appearances in the Majors.

Having been cut by the Pirates in the summer of 2017, Lindblom returned to KBO to join the Doosan Bears for the 2018-19 seasons.  This time around he dominated, pitching to a 2.68 ERA over 363 1/3 innings.  He won the top KBO pitching award in both of those seasons.  With KBO success, excellent spin rates, and a new approach to pitching, Lindblom was a hot commodity in free agency that winter, nabbing the #42 spot on MLBTR’s top 50 free agents list.  He landed a three-year, $9.125MM contract with the Brewers.

Lindblom’s Brewers debut happened to be the shortened COVID season, though he was still able to make ten starts for the club.  He began the following season in Milwaukee’s bullpen, but wound up spending 2021 and ’22 at Triple-A.  In January of this year, Josh announced his retirement.  He thanked those who helped him throughout his career, noting, “Most of us don’t get to choose when we finish.”  Lindblom tallied 209 innings in the Majors with six different teams, striking out 200 batters.  He was particularly tough on Paul Goldschmidt, punching him out six times in 12 plate appearances.

You can follow Josh on Twitter @JoshLindblom52.  Recently, Josh joined the Brewers’ player development staff.

I reached out to Josh to see if he’d be up for chatting with MLBTR readers, and he spent an hour fielding questions on his fondest MLB memories, the differences between MLB and the KBO, the experience of making the transition between those two leagues, and his new role with the Brewers’ player development staff.  Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat.

Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat With Former MLB Outfielder Billy Sample

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Of our ever-growing list of current and former MLB players to hold live chats here, Billy Sample is the first to have played in the 1970s.

The Texas Rangers came to be in 1972, and the following year they drafted Sample, a three-sport star, out of Virginia’s Andrew Lewis high school.  He did not sign at that point, instead attending Madison College (now James Madison University).  Sample boosted his stock and became a 10th round pick of the Rangers in 1976.

Billy was a September call-up for the Rangers in 1978, leading off a game against the Brewers and singling to right field on his first Major League pitch.  In 1979, Sample served as the Rangers’ primary left fielder.  He posted a fine .292/.365/.415 line at the plate, striking out only 7.4% of the time.

In 1981, Sample enjoyed a 19-game hitting streak, and in 1983 he ranked fifth in the American League with 44 stolen bases.  He had an excellent 84.6% success rate on swipes that year.

In February of 1985, the Rangers traded Sample to the Yankees with a player to be named later for Toby Harrah.  After one season in New York, Sample was traded again to the Braves.

Though more of a speedster than a home run hitter, Sample left the yard 46 times in his nine-year MLB career.  The list of pitchers he took deep include Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, Mark Langston, Dennis Martinez, and Cy Young winners Vida Blue, Mike Flanagan, Mike Scott, and LaMarr Hoyt.  One of Sample’s many memorable moments included a walk-off home run against the Angels’ Don Aase in 1982.

Sample played during an interesting time in MLB history, being drafted months after free agency came to the sport.  He was part of the 1981 strike, in which 713 games were cancelled, and can count many legendary players as former teammates.

According to his Wikipedia entry, which Billy suggested I reference for his post-playing career, “Sample has broadcast for the Braves, Seattle Mariners, and California Angels, as well as contributing to NPR, CBS Radio, ESPN, and MLB.com. As a writer, Sample has been published in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, and was one of the columnists at the inception of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly (now Sports Weekly).”  Billy has also written and produced a movie and self-published a book.

Billy graciously lent his time to chat with MLBTR readers today, spending over four hours discussing his career on the field, what life was like for players off the field in his time, the collusion of the ’80s, broadcasting and so much more! Click here to read the transcript!

Are you a current or former MLB player?  We’d love to have you on for a one-hour chat.  Click here to contact us.

The Rangers’ Multi-Inning Relief Weapon

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The Rangers spent most of last year out of playoff contention, in significant part due to an inability to win close games. Texas finished 26 games under .500 despite a relatively modest -36 run differential, with a staggering 15-35 record in one-run contests dooming any chance they had of sticking around the periphery of the Wild Card race.

Any time a team is that bad in close games, it’s safe to assume they were victimized by a lack of clutch hitting. That was true of Texas, although their struggles also reflected a middling relief corps. Ranger relievers finished 21st in strikeout/walk rate differential and tied for sixth in blown saves (28). Nevertheless, the Rangers shied away from any splashy additions to the bullpen this winter. They instead poured virtually all their resources into completely overhauling the starting rotation.

That’s a strong show of faith in the club’s internal bullpen options. It’s a relatively young group but one that has a few players coming off strong 2022 seasons. Hard-throwing righties José Leclerc and Jonathan Hernández returned from Tommy John rehabs to impress down the stretch. Meanwhile, left-hander Brock Burke quietly put forth an excellent year as a multi-inning weapon.

Burke underwent a significant surgery of his own a few years back. He’d debuted in the big leagues with six unsuccessful starts in 2019 and required a procedure to fix a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder the ensuing offseason. Burke would’ve missed the entire ’20 season regardless of whether a full schedule were played. He returned to health in 2021 but spent the whole year on optional assignment to Triple-A Round Rock.

When he took the mound for his 2022 debut on April 10, it represented his first big league outing in two and a half years. The Rangers unsurprisingly deployed him in mostly low-stakes innings for the season’s first month. After posting a 20:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio through the end of April, Burke increasingly found himself in more meaningful game states. He’d remain a consistent weapon throughout the year, posting an ERA below 4.00 in each month — including a sub-3.00 mark for the first four months of the season.

Called upon 52 times, Burke soaked up an MLB-leading 82 1/3 innings of relief. No reliever faced more than the 328 batters that stepped in against him. Despite frequently going into a second inning, Burke remained very productive on a per-batter basis. He held opponents to a putrid .211/.275/.356 line, striking out an above-average 27.4% of batters faced with a solid 7.3% walk rate. He compiled a 1.97 ERA. Estimators like FIP and SIERA felt his production was more akin to that of a low-3.00’s ERA hurler, but even regression to that level would leave Burke as a quality high-leverage arm.

Now 26, Burke had been a solid prospect prior to his shoulder injury. Acquired from the Rays in the three-team deal that sent Jurickson Profar to Oakland over the 2018-19 offseason, he appeared among Texas’ top 30 farmhands at Baseball America over his first two years in the organization. Evaluators regarded him as a potential back-of-the-rotation starter, though his injury threw that off course. Burke told reporters (including Levi Weaver of the Athletic) over the offseason he was hopeful of getting another crack in the rotation. The Rangers’ activity in that regard rules that out, at least to open the year, and the former third-round draftee added he was content with whatever role he’s assigned.

The Rangers seem poised to count on him even more heavily out of the bullpen. General manager Chris Young left open the possibility of Burke getting some ninth-inning work for the first time in his career, though he suggested the multi-inning fireman role might be more valuable for first-year skipper Bruce Bochy. Young implied the team could look to get Burke as many as 100 innings of relief in 2023, a tally only once reached in MLB over the past decade (by then-Rays southpaw Ryan Yarbrough, who frequently operated as a bulk pitcher behind an opener, in 2018).

Whatever the role, it’s clear Burke has put himself among Texas’ most important relievers. The club watched Matt Moore sign with the division-rival Angels and lost Brett Martin for at least the bulk of the upcoming season to shoulder surgery. Taylor Hearn, John King and non-roster invitee Danny Duffy are still in the mix, but the Rangers’ left-handed bullpen contingent isn’t as strong as it was six months ago. Burke certainly won’t function in a lefty specialist capacity but is certain to get plenty of looks against opposing teams’ best hitters from either side of the dish. While that wasn’t the case at this time a year ago, he’s now entrenched in the bullpen after his breakout season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers To Sign Joe Palumbo To Minor League Deal

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Left-hander Joe Palumbo took a physical today to finalize a minor league contract with the Rangers, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Assuming all went as planned, he’ll return to the organization where he began his professional career as a 30th-round draftee in 2013.

Palumbo reached the highest level with Texas between 2019-20. He combined for nine MLB appearances over those two seasons, starting four games. He threw 19 innings and allowed 20 runs, surrendering a staggering eight home runs. Palumbo struck out 26 hitters (an above-average 27.4% rate) but struggled with both walks and hard contact in that brief look.

At the beginning of the 2021-22 offseason, Texas took Palumbo off the 40-man roster. The Giants claimed him but almost immediately non-tendered him, sending him to free agency. Palumbo returned to San Francisco on a minor league pact but only pitched three times in Triple-A before being released. He’d barely pitched in 2020-21 either, spending most of that two-year stretch on the injured list.

All told, Palumbo has logged just 14 innings between MLB and the minors over the last three seasons. Prior to the injury concerns, the New York native had been regarded as one of the better prospects in the Rangers’ system. He slotted among the top 11 Texas farmhands at Baseball America each year between 2017-20, drawing particular praise for his curveball.

Palumbo is expected to be assigned directly to minor league camp once his deal is finalized. That suggests he’s not under consideration for an Opening Day roster spot but positions him to head to Triple-A Round Rock to open 2023. The 28-year-old has pitched in parts of nine minor league campaigns, carrying a 3.03 ERA with a 28.3% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk percentage in a little less than 400 minor league innings.

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