The Texas Rangers signed Steve Delabar and Destin Hood to minor league contracts today, per John Blake on Twitter. So if you were one of those agitating for Texas to get a reliever with a proven track record, well, with Delabar the Rangers have added a former All Star to the pen.
Delabar, 34, is a righthander who became somewhat well known earlier in the decade due to his backstory -- he was out of baseball in 2010 due to arm issues, was coaching and substitute teaching, and ended up getting signed to a minor league deal by the Mariners for the 2011 season. Seattle called him up in September, and after getting dealt to the Blue Jays in the middle of 2012 for Eric Thames, Delabar captured a spot on the American League All Star team in 2013.
Delabar has struggled since the 2013 season, however, as his K rate dropped and he pitched poorly with the Jays and then, in 2016, the Reds. Delabar ended up pitching in Japan briefly in 2016, signed with the Indians in 2017, but then got suspended for 80 games for PEDs, with the end result being that the Indians released him and Delabar didn’t pitch professionally last year.
When Delabar had successful, he was a high-K guy who got a ton of swings-and-misses. He’s not someone the Rangers are going to be counting on in 2018, but he’s an arm to take a look at in the spring, and will most likely be minor league depth for Texas.
Hood, meanwhile, is a 27 year old outfielder who was a second round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2008. Hood got a cup of coffee with the Marlins in 2016, but spent all of 2017 with the Marlins’ AAA affiliate in New Orleans. Primarily a corner outfielder, Hood will also likely be AAA depth for Texas.