Texas Rangers outright Brady Dragmire, sign Wesley Wright

The Texas Rangers have outrighted righthanded pitcher Brady Dragmire and have signed, to a minor league deal, lefthanded relief pitcher Wesley Wright, according to John Blake on Twitter.

Dragmire, of course, had bounced from team to team this offseason, having been, among other things, claimed twice by the Rangers and waived twice by the Rangers. Dragmire finally made it through waivers and has now been outrighted, which means that the Rangers can keep him in their minor league system this year, and he is not occupying a 40 man roster spot. He will presumably provide the Rangers with starting pitching depth at either AA or AAA. He had been designated for assignment last week when Tyson Ross was officially signed.

Wright, meanwhile, is a 31 year old lefty who was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Astros out of the Dodgers system in December, 2007. He spent most of six seasons with the Astros, pitched for the Rays in 2013, the Cubs in 2014, and the Orioles and Angels in 2015. Wright spent the 2016 season at AAA Pawtucket in Boston’s system, putting up a 4.31 ERA in 31.1 IP.

Wright is a depth signing, someone for the Rangers to look at as a possibly lefty bullpen option in camp. He’s something of a lefty specialist, having given up a 647 OPS to lefty hitters in his career, versus an 829 OPS against righthanders. With Jake Diekman on the shelf for the first half of the season, the Rangers are looking at Alex Claudio, Dario Alvarez, and Andrew Faulkner as their primary lefty bullpen options, so Wright has a shot at making the big league pen this spring.