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With the 2021 season having come to a close, we are looking back at the year that was for members of the Texas Rangers.
Today we are looking at 1B/DH Curtis Terry.
Well, things started out well for Curtis Terry in 2021, then ended with a thud.
Terry, a 13th round draft pick in the 2015 draft, entered 2021 having never played above A ball. Hell, he had only one season above short-season ball, in 2019, when he split the year between low-A and high-A, slashing .293/.362/.537.
Terry had an impressive spring training, however, earning a spot at the Alternate Training Site to start 2021, and then went to AAA Round Rock, bypassing AA Frisco altogether. Terry got off to a terrific start for Round Rock, and was slashing .320/.391/.628 at the end of June. He cooled off in July, but was still hitting .294/.375/.583 for the season when he got the call to the majors late in the month.
Terry’s early season success made it likely he was going to get a look in the majors at some point in 2021 — the Rangers were in full-on rebuilding and tryout mode, and Terry was eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season if he wasn’t on the 40 man roster. It made sense for Texas to bring him up and get a look at him against major league pitching as part of their evaluation process. If you’re going to have to have him on the 40 man roster or lose him once the season is over, might as well add him now and audition him.
Things, of course, idd not go well. Terry’s first three games were in Houston, and he went hitless, striking out six times. He didn’t get his first hit until his seventh major league game, when he picked up a single and a double in a win against the Angels.
That was the apex of his time in the majors in 2021, however. Terry went 2 for his next 22, then was sent back down to Round Rock for the remainder of the season. Unfortunately, Terry’s bat stayed cold in Round Rock, as well, as he slashed .240/.298/.442 the rest of the way for the Express.
For the year Terry hit .275/.349/.533 in 411 plate appearances in AAA, and .089/.146/.133 in 48 plate appearances in the majors. Once the World Series ended, Terry was waived, cleared waivers, and was outrighted, though the outright assignment was just a technicality — he became a free agent, along with all the other six year minor league free agents, thereafter.
The Rangers, I would imagine, will talk to Terry about returning. Or he could look to join another team that needs a 1B/DH type for AAA, and where he feels he may have a better chance of getting back to the majors. Another possibility is going overseas — he’s the type of slugger who can be attractive to teams in Japan, and could get the opportunity for a big payday there.
Curtis Terry will be playing somewhere in 2022, though. And hopefully he makes some strides and makes it back to the big leagues at some point. He’s someone I’m rooting for.
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