Texas Rangers adding (at least) four to 40 man roster

Texas Rangers rumors: Leody Taveras, Sherten Apostel, Demarcus Evans and Tyler Phillips will be added to the Rangers’ 40 man roster today, according to the beat guys. Additional players could be added to the 40 man roster today as well, though the roster currently has 36 players, so any additional additions would have to be made in connection with someone being dropped from the current 40 man roster.

There have been eight players identified as strong candidates to be added to the 40 man roster, with Eli White, Kyle Cody, Joe Barlow and Anderson Tejeda also in consideration. Any player who is not added to the 40 man roster by this evening is eligible to be selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft, if they otherwise meet the qualifications for being Rule 5 eligible.

Taveras has long been seen as a lock to be added, as the center fielder is one of the Rangers’ top prospects, and is considered a terrific defensive outfielder. Apostel, acquired from Pittsburgh in the Keone Kela deal, is a third baseman who had a breakout 2019 campaign, and although he hasn’t played above A ball and is defensively limited, his promise is such that the Rangers don’t want to risk losing him. Evans is a righthanded reliever who ended the year in Frisco, and who could be pitching in the majors in 2020. Phillips is a righthanded starting pitcher who ended the year in Frisco.

Of the four players currently on the bubble, Barlow would seem to be the most likely to stick with another team in the Rule 5 draft. A hard throwing righthanded reliever, Barlow needs to refine his command, but could be stashed in a major league pen right by a rebuilding team. Tejeda is a well-regarded shortstop who hasn’t played above A ball and who missed most of 2019 with a shoulder injury, but who could stick on a team willing to use him as a utility player and bet on his upside. White, who came to Texas from Oakland in the three-way deal that sent Jurickson Profar out, struggled with the bat at Nashville this year, but is athletic and offers defensive versatility, which makes it easier to hide him as the 26th man on the roster in 2020. Cody, a righthanded starting pitcher, missed most of 2018 and all of 2019 due to a UCL injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. A team could draft Cody and look to stash him on the injured list at the start of the year, let him do 60 days of rehab (which he’s entitled to get, rather than 30 days, since he is coming back from TJS), and then stick him in the bullpen, but that would seem to be somewhat difficult to pull off.

The Rangers could still be working on potential deals involving fringe 40 man roster players, such as Adrian Sampson, Taylor Guerrieri, and Ian Gibaut, which would open up additional roster spots to use on Rule 5 candidates (though the Rangers will also want to have a few spots open for major league free agent signings). The Rangers could also potentially deal one of the Rule 5 eligible guys to another team with more 40 man roster space, rather than risk losing them for the Rule 5 price.

If and when there are more reports, and when there is an official announcement, we will update.