Texas Rangers 40 man roster update

Texas Rangers 40 man roster update:  We have had some trades and some movement of late, so I figured it would be worthwhile to take a look at where the 40 man roster stands.

Here's the 40 man roster, from the Rangers' website:

Anthony Bass

Lisalverto Bonilla

Alex Claudio

Yu Darvish

Jake Diekman

Sam Dyson

Jon Edwards

Sam Freeman

Yovani Gallardo

Chi Chi Gonzalez

Cole Hamels

Derek Holland

Luke Jackson

Keone Kela

Phil Klein

Colby Lewis

Nick Martinez

Roman Mendez

Spencer Patton

Martin Perez

Anthony Ranaudo

Tanner Scheppers

Nick Tepesch

Shawn Tolleson

Robinson Chirinos

Carlos Corporan

Chris Gimenez

Bobby Wilson

Hanser Alberto

Elvis Andrus

Adrian Beltre

Kyle Blanks

Prince Fielder

Joey Gallo

Mitch Moreland

Rougned Odor

Jurickson Profar

Adam Rosales

Michael Choice

Shin-Soo Choo

Delino DeShields

Josh Hamilton

Leonys Martin

Antoan Richardson

Ryan Rua

That's a total of 45 players, though 6 of those 45 are currently on the 60 day d.l., meaning that the 40 man roster currently stands at 39.

Of those 45 players, Adam Rosales, Kyle Blanks, Colby Lewis, and Yovani Gallardo are free agents, meaning that, once the season is over, they'll be off the 40 man roster.  In addition, Bobby Wilson and Chris Gimenez will be dropped from the 40 man roster, and Antoan Richardson will likely end up being removed as well.  Assuming that happens, the 40 man roster will stand at 38 once the season is over (or soon thereafter).

The Rangers will then have to address at some point in November what minor leaguers will be added to the 40 man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.  One of the side effects of the sequence of trades that happened at the deadline was that it opened up some 40 man roster spots.  Jorge Alfaro, Matt Harrison and Jerad Eickhoff, all of whom went to Philadelphia, were on the 40 man roster, and Tomas Telis, who went to Miami in the Sam Dyson deal, was also on the 40 man roster.  In addition, Alec Asher, part of the Hamels trade, would have had to have been added to the 40 man roster this offseason.  The Philly trade, in particular, resulted in reducing some of the roster crunch the Rangers were potentially facing this offseason.

In looking at Scott Lucas's chart of Rule 5 eligible players, we see only one minor leaguer who is a lock to be added to the 40 man roster this offseason -- Andrew Faulkner, who could end up getting a look in the major league bullpen in September.  The only other first time eligible players who are possibilities to be added to the 40 man roster are Jose Leclerc, the hard-throwing righthander who had been a reliever prior to this season, when Texas decided to give him a look in the Frisco rotation, and lefty Frank Lopez, who has split the year between High Desert and Frisco.

There are also a handful of players who were Rule 5 eligible last year, who could be protected this time around -- Chad Bell, Jimmy Reyes, Will Lamb, Connor Sadzeck, Drew Robinson, David Perez, Victor Payano -- but it wouldn't shock me if Faulkner were the only player added come November.

Still, there will need to be spots freed up for free agents -- I suspect that Colby Lewis will come back on a major league deal, and even if he doesn't, some starting pitcher will be added from outside the organiation -- and so there are some players on the 40 man right now whose roster spots will likely be in jeopardy this offseason.

The one position player who could be on the bubble is Michael Choice.  Opening up his stance resulted in a strong June, and had folks enthusiastic that maybe he was unlocking his potential, but Choice followed that up with a 622 OPS in July.  He's a former first round draft pick and the power is enticing, but he's not hitting in AAA and he'll be on his last option in 2016.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's dropped from the 40 man before spring training.

Among the pitchers, Anthony Bass has done a nice job as a long reliever this year, but he's a journeyman type who the Rangers would probably see as expendable if they needed a roster spot.  Lisalverto Bonilla has missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Texas may opt to cut him loose versus holding onto him and letting him continue to rehab in 2016.  Roman Mendez, meanwhile, is on his last option, and while the arm shows promise, he's simply not been able to show enough consistent results to stick in the majors.  I think Texas will try to hold onto him through the winter, and then run him through waivers right before Opening Day if he doesn't stick, but if roster spots become scarce, he's someone who could get the axe.