Rangers sign three, including Huang

Texas Rangers transactions: Wei-Chieh Huang, Rob Refsnyder and Nick Ciutto have been signed to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training, the team announced today.

Huang, a righthanded pitcher, was non-tendered earlier this week by the Rangers along with Ian Gibaut, which removed the pair from the 40 man roster. The fact that Huang has already signed a deal which is being announced today suggests that, as we thought might be the case, the Rangers and Huang had discussions about him returning on a minor league contract prior to being non-tendered.

Refsnyder, 28, is a infielder/outfielder who was originally a 5th round pick of the New York Yankees in 2012. He has spent parts of four seasons in the majors with the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, and spent most of last season in the minors with the Cincinnati Reds. He is minor league depth for Nashville.

Ciuffo, 24, is a catcher who was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013, being taken two picks before the Rangers snagged Chi Chi Gonzalez. He has 50 major league plate appearances and, like Refsnyder, last played in the Reds’ organization — he was signed by them last summer after the Rays released him in July. He’s also AAA depth.