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Texas Rangers rumors: Jerome Williams, the righthanded starting pitcher who was non-tendered earlier this offseason by the Los Angeles Angels, is reportedly in talks with the Texas Rangers on contract discussions that are making progress, with a deal possibly being announced in the next few days.
The 32 year old Williams has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Angels, and appeared in 37 games (25 starts) last season for Anaheim, putting up a 4.57 ERA in 169.1 innings, after putting up a 4.58 ERA in 137.2 innings the season before.
Rangers g.m. Jon Daniels has previously said that the team was looking at free agent possibilities for starting pitching depth, and that need for depth has been increased by the news that Derek Holland is expected to miss the first part of the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
Williams would presumably get a major league deal for $1-2 million, and be the favorite to land the fifth starter's job, if the Rangers were to sign him.
Williams has basically been a replacement level pitcher the last couple of years, and isn't someone you really want to be relying on for 30 starts if you are a playoff contender. On the other hand, with Holland going down, the Rangers need someone who can at least be a short-term option to help shore up the rotation, and for that sort of role, you could do worse than Jerome Williams.
