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Texas Rangers rumors: Tyson Ross is of interest to the Texas Rangers, with T.R. Sullivan tweeting that talks between the free agent righthander and the team are “heating up.”
The Rangers have already signed one former Padre righty to a one year reclamation project deal, in former Horned Frog Andrew Cashner, and Ross would seem to represent a similar roll of the dice, a guy with major question marks who offers significant upside if everything clicks.
Ross appeared in just one major league game in 2016, the season opener for San Diego, before missing the rest of the season with shoulder issues. The track record for pitchers coming back from missing a season with a shoulder injury isn’t great, and Ross had some health red flags even before 2016.
When Ross has been on the mound the past three years, however, he has been solid, putting up a 3.07 ERA and a 3.13 FIP in 516.2 IP from 2013-15. He has a wicked fastball/slider combo that results in a lot of missed bats, which makes his upside enticing, but he also walks a bunch of batters, and doesn’t work real deep into games. Combine that with missing all of 2016, as well as doing his best work while pitching for San Diego, which has a very pitcher-friendly park, and you have a guy with a great deal of uncertainty.
The Rangers are looking for someone who can be a legitimate #3 starter, and the 2013-15 version of Ross would be that. It remains to be seen, however, if he can stay healthy, if his stuff translates to a hitter-friendly park in the A.L., and if the injury problems last year sapped any of his stuff.