Rangers Trade Pitcher to Red Sox

Chirinos also played for the Houston Astros, the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles. His last action was play for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic alongside former Rangers teammate Martín Pérez.

He was a lifetime .226 hitter with 95 home runs and 306 RBI. 

April 28: The Texas Rangers are back in their Nike City Connect uniforms Friday night for the second of four games with the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers are wearing the special edition unis for every Friday home game this season going forward. Texas is 1-1 in the City Connects so far, having split two games with the Oakland Athletics during the uniform debut weekend.

The Rangers (14-11) are on a season-high four-game losing streak. Texas is sending ace Jacob deGrom (2-0, 3.04) to the hill, with the Yankees (15-11) countering with Clarke Schmidt (0-2, 6.30).

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The roof will be closed.

April 24: The Texas Rangers and Clint Frazier have come to a mutual agreement to release the veteran outfielder from his minor league contract, according to MLB.com.

On April 28, the Chicago White Sox announced that they had signed Frazier and that he would be available for that night's game. 

Frazier, 28, hoped to earn a spot with the Rangers during Spring Training after signing a non-roster deal. He didn't and started the season with Triple-A Round Rock, slashing .250/.350/.442 in 15 games for the Express.

The former fifth overall pick spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with the New York Yankees and played only 19 games for the Chicago Cubs last season. 

April 23: Not only did Adolis García enjoy a historically-significant performance in Saturday's 18-3 blowout over the Oakland Athletics, a piece of his equipment will soon be headed to Cooperstown.

The City Connect batting helmet that García wore will be donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Well, that's once he can get a new helmet ordered and delivered.

The right fielder delivered a performance at Globe Life Field only seen three times in the modern era, as he went 5-for-5 with three home runs, eights RBI and five extra-base hits.

García doesn't have an extra helmet since it's a special model used as part of the Nike City Connect uniform collection. The Rangers will wear their City Connects for Friday home games throughout the rest of the season.

April 15: One of the biggest bright spots in for the Texas Rangers wasn't even supposed to make the team. According to the Dallas Morning News, manager Bruce Bochy told Travis Jankwoski when the team was still in Arizona that he would not make the team. 

However, Jankowski is not 6-for-16 this season and has been a menace on the basepaths for opposing teams. He has been a revelation for the ball club to start the season. 

April 14: The Rangers activated relief pitcher Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list. The right-hander will be available in the bullpen for Friday night's series opener at the Houston Astros.

The move comes a day after the Rangers optioned fellow relief pitcher Taylor Hearn to Triple-A Rock, making room for Sborz on the 26-man roster.

April 13: The Rangers have optioned relief pitcher Taylor Hearn to Triple-A Round Rock, the team announced. The move comes on the heels of his Wednesday night performance against the Kansas City Royals in which he pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs. 

A corresponding move was not announced at the time of Hearn's demotion, but the team did say a move would be made ahead of Friday night's game with the Houston Astros. 

A likely candidate to replace Hearn on the 26-man roster is relief pitcher Josh Sborz.

April 10: Texas Rangers catcher Mitch Garver was moved to the 10-day injured list on Monday with a mild left knee sprain, the team announced. 

The Rangers recalled Sandy León from Triple-A Round Rock to take Garver's place on the active roster. 

To make room for León, the Rangers moved pitcher Spencer Howard from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Howard has a right lat strain.

Garver missed most of last season with a right flexor tendon injury that required surgery. He's batted .263 with two home runs and six RBI as a designated hitter and part-time catcher. 

León is a lifetime .210 hitter who was with the Rangers in Spring Training and was designated to Round Rock at the end of camp. 

April 9: Texas Rangers reliever Josh Sborz began his injury rehab stint with a scoreless inning of relief for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday against Sugar Land. 

The Rangers announced earlier in the day that Sborz would start his rehab assignment with the Express.

Sborz pitched in the third inning of the game. After Sugar Land's Grae Kessinger flew out, Sborz struck out both Dixon Machado and Pedro Leon swinging.

That was Sborz's first game action since March 22. He was moved to the 15-day injured list on March 30 (retroactive to March 27) with an ankle injury. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Tuesday.

Making a future move with Sborz is complicated by the fact that he is on the 40-man roster and out of minor-league options. 

April 8: Leody Taveras took another positive step in his injury rehab assignment by playing seven innings in center field for Double-A Frisco on Friday.

He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout at the plate after serving as the designated hitter Thursday. Taveras has gone 0-for-7 with a pair of strikeouts in his two appearances with the RoughRiders.

Taveras suffered a low-grade oblique strain during Spring Training. He's expected to be the Rangers starting center fielder once healthy.

April 7: Texas Rangers pitcher Jake Odorizzi underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right shoulder on Wednesday. The procedure will cause him to miss the entire season, per MLB.com. 

Odorizzi never pitched in Spring Training with what the Rangers called "arm fatigue." They placed him on the 60-day injured list to open the season.

The Rangers traded for Odorizzi in November, sending pitcher Kolby Allard to the Atlanta Braves. The Rangers are only on the hook for $2.5 million of Odorizzi's salary, as Atlanta is picking up the rest. 

In other updates, Rangers outfielder Leody Taveras will play in the outfield at Double-A Frisco on Friday as he continues to rehab from injury. He is eligible to come off the injured list at any time. 

April 6: Texas Rangers outfielder Leody Taveras has been sent to Double-A Frisco on injury rehabilitation assignment and is expected to start as designated hitter in the RoughRiders' season opener at home Friday night against Amarillo.

Taveras suffered a low-grade oblique strain during Spring Training and hasn't played since March 3. He's expect to be the Rangers starting center fielder once he's healthy and ready to return.

Taveras was placed on the 10-day injures list retroactive to March 27. The hope, according to general manager Chris Young, was that Taveras could join the Rangers on the first road trip of the season, which starts Friday at the Chicago Cubs.

Taveras took batting practice from both sides of the plate earlier this week.

March 30: While not a transaction, there was a significant move during the Opening Day matchup between the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. More like movement, actually.

With rain showers moving through the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Thursday afternoon, the roof at Globe Life Field began to be closed after the conclusion of the third inning

The closing process was completed prior to the middle of the fourth and the roof remained closed for the rest of the game. It was the first time in the facility’s brief history (est. 2020) that the roof was opened or closed mid-contest.

The Rangers rallied to win 11-7 after being down 5-0 early.

March 29: Top 30 prospect Ricky Vanasco had meniscus surgery and is out 4-6 weeks. A member of the 40-man roster, the pitcher was injured fielding a ground ball last week during Spring Training.

In 2022, Vanasco went 3-5 with a 4.68 ERA. He made 23 appearances between Class-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco, all starts, pitching 92 1/3 innings. He gave up 89 hits, 53 runs (48 earned), 14 home runs and 52 walks. He struck out 118. He had a 1.42 WHIP.

The Rangers drafted Vanasco out of high school in the 15th round in 2017. His best minor league season was in 2019 – 1.81 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings in the lower levels of the organization. But Tommy John surgery put his career on hold at the end of 2020. He resumed pitching last season.

He was on the 40-man roster in 2022 because the Rangers liked his stuff so much they wanted to protect him from the 2021 Rule V Draft.

March 29: On the eve of Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Rangers announced the following transactions:

- LHP John King optioned to Triple-A Round Rock

- RHP Dominic Leone re-signed to a minor league contract and assigned to Round Rock

- OF Dustin Harris option transferred from Round Rock to Double-A Frisco

March 28: Catcher Sandy Leon will re-sign with the Texas Rangers, per a report in the New York Post. 

The Rangers announced on Monday that they would release Leon, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training camp. Given his release, Leon had the chance to shop his services around the league. 

The move has not been officially announced by the Rangers. But should Leon follow through, he would give the organization additional depth at catcher behind Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Sam Huff, the last of which is on the 40-man roster but will star the season at Triple-A Round Rock.

Leon is a 10-year veteran and a .210 lifetime hitter.

The Rangers play their final exhibition game on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals.

March 27: Former Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara was released by the Baltimore Orioles in another blow to a once-promising career. Considered one of the top prospects in baseball while coming up with the Rangers, Mazara has struggled mightily the last few years.

Since being traded by the Rangers after 2019 season, Mazara has played sparingly for three different organizations – Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres – over the last three years. He failed to get more than 181 plate appearances in each of those three seasons after having no fewer than 469 in his four years with Texas.

Mazara, 28, hit .261 with 79 home runs and 308 RBI with the Rangers. He was signed by the Orioles to a minor-league deal in December.

March 27: The Texas Rangers announced on Monday that they have released catcher Sandy Leon, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training camp. 

Leon is a 10-year veteran and a .210 lifetime hitter. 

The move underscores the comfort the Rangers have in the tandem of Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver. Heim will get the majority of the playing time, per manager Bruce Bochy, with Garver getting time at designated hitter when he isn't behind the plate.

The Rangers made the move in advance of its exhibition game on Monday with Kansas City.

March 25: The Texas Rangers have shut down pitcher Glenn Otto for three weeks as he prepares to be re-examined by team doctors on Monday in Arlington, per a report from Rangers Today. 

Otto, who won seven games last season and was a candidate for the bullpen, hasn't pitched in more than a week due to what the Rangers have called right lat tightness. 

Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers' team doctor, will handle the examination. 

March 25: The Texas Rangers have informed reliever Joe Barlow that he will begin the season at Triple-A Round Rock. 

Barlow was a two-year veteran of the Rangers bullpen and, despite blister issues, led the club in saves in 2022 with 13.

He threw 8 1/3 innings of relief in Spring Training, going 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA. 

March 24: The Texas Rangers informed two players that they would be released and two other players that they would not be breaking camp with the team.

Manager Bruce Bochy made the announcement, at the same time announcing that pitcher Jacob deGrom would start on Opening Day. 

The Rangers informed pitcher Reyes Moronta and outfielder Joe McCarthy that they will be released. Both were signed as non-roster invitees for Spring Training. 

Moronta, a former San Francisco Giants reliever, threw in seven games and pitched 5 2/3 innings in spring, striking out five hitters. 

McCarthy went through Spring Training with the Rangers last season. He batted .258 with a home run and three RBI in 31 at-bats. 

Two other players won't break camp with the Rangers are first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo and outfielder Clint Frazier.

Bochy said the two players have not been released and are weighing their options. 

Tsutsugo was a late arrival to spring due to visa issues and batted .240 with one home run and six RBI in 25 at-bats. 

Frazier was contending for a utility outfield role. He batted .244 with two home runs and five RBI in 41 at-bats. 

With those moves, the Rangers are now down to 39 players on their spring roster entering Friday's game with the Chicago Cubs. 

The Rangers have three more games in Arizona before breaking camp and returning to Arlington for two exhibition games with the Kansas City Royals, starting Monday at Globe Life Field.