Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Gets massive five-year deal
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DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
The contract includes a conditional sixth year that would make the deal worth $222 million. He has a full no-trade clause. The commitment from ownership in Texas has been quite impressive, as they laid out $556 million for Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray last offseason. DeGrom unsurprisingly opted for a longer contract than he might have been offered by other teams, as durability is the only question mark with him. The 34-year-old righty logged a 3.08 ERA, 2.13 FIP and 0.75 WHIP in 64.1 innings last season with the Mets after dealing with a shoulder injury for the first four months. He dealt with an elbow injury in 2021. According to Statcast park factors, Globe Life Field is the 19th most hitter-friendly park while Citi Field ranked 26th, so it's a slight park downgrade and a major supporting cast downgrade.
Ornelas was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
After slashing .301/.362/.425 with Double-A Frisco in 2022, Ornelas was deemed worthy of a spot on the 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection. Given a bit more time to develop in the minors, the 22-year-old infielder has a good shot at cracking the big leagues.
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Rangers' Cole Winn: Shielded from Rule 5 draft
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Winn was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday.
There were high expectations for Winn last season and he fell flat, logging a 6.51 ERA in 121.2 innings at Triple-A. Pedigree (15th overall pick in 2018) and youth (turns 23 this month) are still on his side, but he will need make some adjustments or improvements ahead of next season.
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Rangers' Owen White: Joins 40-man roster
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White was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday.
One of the Rangers' best pitching prospects, White was great at High-A and Double-A last season before forearm fatigue shelved him for most of the second half. If White can stay healthy and handle a starter's workload (career-high 80.1 innings last season), he could be a mid-rotation starter.
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Rangers' Zak Kent: Added to 40-man roster
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Kent was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday.
Kent has a hammer curveball that plays as a plus pitch when he is locating his low-to-mid-90s fastball. Considering he will turn 25 in February and has made just five starts at Triple-A, the clock is ticking on Kent to make it as a starting pitcher. However, he could have a nice fall-back plan as a setup man if he is moved to relief.
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Rangers' Dustin Harris: Added to 40-man roster
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Harris was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday.
A 23-year-old left fielder who can also play first base, Harris' bat really needs to live up to its billing if he is to make it as an everyday player. He hit .257/.346/.471 with 17 home runs, 19 steals and a 19.4 percent strikeout rate in 85 games at Double-A before a knee injury put an end to his season. Harris should open the year at Triple-A.
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Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Protected from Rule 5 draft
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Acuna was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
One of Ronald Acuna's younger brothers, Luisangel hit .278/.367/.425 with a 23.6 percent strikeout rate, 11 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 91 games across High-A and Double-A as a 20-year-old. At roughly 5-foot-8, he lacks his big brother's power potential and physicality, but Acuna is still ahead of schedule on his ascent up the organizational ladder.
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Rangers' Martin Perez: Accepts qualifying offer
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Perez accepted the Rangers' one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer Tuesday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Most players who are extended qualifying offers decline them, but with Perez coming off a career year that kind of came out of nowhere, it's not surprising to see him take this significant one-year contract. The 31-year-old southpaw logged a 2.89 ERA, 3.59 xERA, 1.26 WHIP and 169 strikeouts in 196.1 innings (10th most in the majors) last season.
Tinoco was outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.
The Rangers made a flurry of moves Thursday, primarily activating players from the 60-day injured list. In turn, they had to open spots on the 40-man roster, and Tinoco was one of the casualties. He spent most of the season at Round Rock in 2022, though he managed a 2.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 18:10 K:BB across 20.2 innings while pitching out of the bullpen with the Rangers.
