Texas Rangers claim Zac Curtis, designated Brandon Mann for assignment

Texas Rangers transactions: Zac Curtis, lefthanded pitcher, has been claimed on waivers by the Rangers. To make room for Curtis on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have designated lefthanded pitcher Brandon Mann for assignment. Curtis, 26, was a 6th round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2014 draft. He was traded by the D-Backs to Seattle in November, 2016, along with Mitch Haniger and Jean Segura in the deal that brought Ketel Marte and Taijuan Walker to Arizona, and then was claimed on waivers by the Phillies in September, 2017.

Curtis has had a couple of brief stints in the majors this year, but has spent most of the season at Lehigh Valley with the AAA International League. Curtis has a 3.00 ERA in 42. IP over 33 games for the Iron Pigs, with 48 Ks against 22 walks, and put up a 1.86 ERA in the majors for the Phillies this year in 9.2 IP, but walked 10 and struck out 10. Curtis also appeared in the majors for the D-Backs in 2016 and both Seattle and Philly in 2017. He appears to be on his third option, though he may be eligible for a fourth option, as this is his fifth professional year.

Curtis has been optioned to AAA Round Rock. He is someone the Rangers now can take a look at in AAA and decide if they want to include in the mix for the major league bullpen later this year and in 2019.

As for Mann, he is a neat story, a guy who made it to the majors for the first time at age 34 after turning his career around by working with Driveline, but he had 4 walks and 2 Ks in 7.1 IP in the majors, and his peripherals in AAA weren’t great. The Rangers will presumably look to run him through waivers and outright him.