Former All-Star reliever Shane Greene among 3 more RHPs that Rangers sign to minor deals
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Former All-Star reliever Shane Greene is among three more right-handers who have been signed by the Texas Rangers to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.
The World Series champions announced the deals with Greene, Jonathan Holder, and Austin Pruitt on Wednesday. That comes about two weeks after veteran reliever Diego Castillo was in a group of three other right-handers signed to contracts that designated them as non-roster invitees to spring training.
The 35-year-old Greene joined the Chicago Cubs organization last June, and made two scoreless relief appearances in a pair of short stints in the big leagues. He was an American League All-Star in 2019, when had had 23 saves and a career-low 2.30 ERA over 65 relief appearances split between Detroit and Atlanta. He has a 24-29 record with 67 saves and a 4.50 ERA in 345 games with five teams over 10 seasons in the majors, also pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
Holder spent last season in the Los Angeles Angeles organization, and the 30-year-old pitcher’s only big league appearances came with the Yankees from 2016-20, when he was 10-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 157 games, all but two of those in relief.
Pruitt, who missed the end of last season on the injured list with right forearm strain, was 2-6 with a 2.98 ERA in 38 appearances (six starts) for Oakland before getting hurt. He had a 1.86 ERA in his 32 games pitching in relief. He has a 14-16 record with a 4.43 ERA in 150 big league games since 2017, also playing for Tampa Bay, Houston and Miami.
Even with Shota Imanaga signing with the Chicago Cubs, the MLB free agent pool still consists of tons of high-end talent on both sides. Need rotation help? Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and Marcus Stroman are all still available for the taking. Need an elite closer? Josh Hader’s your man. Is solid pop what you’re looking for? Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, and Rhys Hoskins are still there.
Despite all the big names though, the free agency period is moving noticeably slowly. Every time a big name signs somewhere, it seems like we need to wait another week before anybody else makes a move, which is shocking considering how many big-market teams have still yet to make an impact signing. The Rangers and Blue Jays have yet to make any considerable moves. Even teams rumored to sell like the White Sox and Brewers have yet to give away any of their high-end talent.
Nonetheless, as the start of spring training draws nearer every day, there is bound to be some big moves just around the corner. Here are the latest rumors surrounding the top MLB free agents as well as potential trade pieces.
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