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The Texas Rangers made a handful of moves at the end of this past week involving players not on the 40 man roster.
The most notable is probably that Jimmy Herget, who had been designated for assignment by the Rangers on December 21, 2019, to make room for Adolis Garcia on the 40 man roster, was outrighted by the Rangers. I assume this occurred around New Year’s, and the Rangers and John Blake just never announced that until Friday. Herget, a 26 year old righthanded relief pitcher, was claimed on waivers by the Rangers from the Cincinnati Reds in early December, and will presumably spend 2020 in the Nashville bullpen.
The Rangers also announced the signings of three players to minor league contracts with spring training invites: James Jones, Luis Garcia, and Yadiel Rivera.
Jones, 31, came over to Texas from Seattle in the ill-fated Leonys Martin/Tom Wilhelmsen trade after the 2015 season, and converted from the outfield to pitching. He’s been in the Rangers’ minor league system since then, and put up a 2.67 ERA between Frisco and Nashville as a reliever in 2019. Jones is lefthanded, so there’s always the possibility he could end up making it to the majors.
Garcia, who turns 33 at the end of this month, is a righthanded relief pitcher who put up a 4.35 ERA in 62 IP over 64 games for the Angels last season. He had a very nice year out of the bullpen for the Phillies in 2017, but otherwise has been more or less a replacement level guy, putting up a career 4.17 ERA and 4.29 FIP in 306.2 IP over 315 games in 7 seasons. He will be vying for a spot in the Rangers bullpen this spring.
Rivera, 27, is a shortstop primarily, but has started games in the majors at every position except for pitcher and catcher. He’s got a career 469 OPS in 314 plate appearances over 188 games in the majors between the Marlins and the Brewers from 2015-19. I’m guessing he’s depth who will be at Nashville or Frisco, playing whatever position they need him to play.
Finally, the Rangers announced that Reed Garrett has been officially released so that he can sign with the Seibu Lions in Japan. Garrett is a righthanded reliever who was selected in the Rule 5 draft last year by Detroit, but returned mid-season.