Rangers make decision on Opening Day roster

Veteran left-handers Danny Duffy and Chasen Shreve won’t make the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, nor will righty Shane Greene, reports Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. They’ve been told they can explore the opt-out clauses in their minor-league deals and see if big-league opportunities exist elsewhere. However, the Rangers would also welcome the trio of veterans to open the season with their Triple-A affiliate.

The 35-year-old Duffy hasn’t pitched in a big league game since 2021 due to a lengthy series of injuries — most notably a torn flexor tendon that required surgery to repair in December 2021. Several setbacks wound up costing Duffy the 2022 season as well. He pitched 35 2/3 minor league innings with Texas last season but walked more than 16% of his opponents, showing some clear rust from his lengthy layoff on the mound. He’s looked better this spring, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks with seven punchouts.

Aside from a brief dalliance in the bullpen in 2015-16, Duffy was a fixture on Kansas City’s starting staff from 2014-21. During that time, he logged a 3.82 ERA in 1015 innings while punching out 21.3% of his opponents against an 8.2% walk rate.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year. He’s yielded a pair of runs on five hits with a 5-to-2 K/BB ratio and 46% ground-ball rate thus far in spring training.

Greene was once a high-leverage bullpen arm with the Tigers and Braves, pitching to a combined 3.25 ERA with 64 saves and 35 holds in 221 2/3 innings from 2017-20 between the two clubs. He reached free agency on the heels of that stretch but didn’t sign until the following May when he returned to the Braves. The right-hander struggled to a 7.23 ERA in 28 innings after that delayed start to the season and hasn’t had much of an opportunity to get back on track since.

Shreve, 33, has pitched in the majors in the past 10 seasons. He touts a career 3.97 ERA with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. His velocity has dipped over the past couple of seasons, with his heater sitting at just 90.6 mph from 2022-23. He’s pitched to a 5.32 ERA through 71 innings in that time, though there’s reason for more optimism than that mark would suggest.

Shreve boasts better-than-average strikeout and walk rates (24.1% and 7.8%) despite the downturn in velocity and has kept the ball on the ground at a solid 43.5% clip. Metrics like FIP (4.55) and particularly SIERA (3.64) are far more bullish than his ERA. In 4 2/3 spring innings, he’s yielded four runs on five hits and a couple of walks while fanning five opponents.