Shortly before the clock struck midnight on Thursday evening, the Texas Rangers signed yet another arm for their bullpen. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers have inked right-hander Garrett Richards to a contract. The deal is for one year and is worth $4.5 million. It also includes a club option for the 2023 season. This news comes less than 48 hours after they announced that they signed Brad Miller and Charlie Culberson to contracts. Culberson’s deal is of the minor league variety. The 2022 season is sure to be a lot of fun to follow given the fact that there are a lot of new faces on this Rangers team. Texas Rangers fans are already counting down to Opening Day when their guys take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 7th.
Eating Up Innings
For the past few seasons, the Texas Rangers have been looking for a guy for their bullpen who could log a high number of innings for them. That is exactly what they are about to get with Richards. Last year, he pitched 136 2/3 innings for the Boston Red Sox. He posted a record of 7–8, but he did have 115 strikeouts. He ended up with an earned run average of 4.87 in 40 games for Boston. He started 22 of those games. Based on this information, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Texas Rangers use him in a multiple innings role out of the bullpen. Richards broke into the major leagues in 2011 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Since then, he has also pitched for the San Diego Padres before going to Boston last year.
Other Roster Moves
On March 16th, the Texas Rangers signed right-handers Greg Holland and Dan Winkler to minor league contracts. Both of these deals include invitations to Major League spring camp. The Texas Rangers have also been keeping an eye on outfielder Eli White. White had his 2021 season cut short in August due to a torn UCL in his right elbow. He had surgery to fix it at season’s end. He is progressing well in his rehab, but the Rangers are being cautious with him. He’ll be able to do as much hitting and defensive work as possible throughout camp, but he isn’t expected to return to the Rangers until late April.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Garrett Richards, Brad Miller, Charlie Culberson, Greg Holland, Dan Winkler
