Lone Star Ball

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ A final surprise The Texas Rangers break camp in Arizona today with a Cactus League finale matchup against the San Diego Padres. RHP Jacob deGrom will make his final tune-up start before taking the hill on Opening Day next Thursday. The Fightin’ Prellers will counter with old pal Nick Martinez making the start. Today's Lineups PADRES RANGERS Trent Grisham - CF Josh Smith - SS Rougned Odor - 2B Ezequiel Duran - 3B Manny Machado - 3B Jonah Heim - C Nelson Cruz - DH Adolis Garcia - RF David Dahl - LF Mitch Garver -...

Photo by Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/ Texas Rangers reliever Joe Barlow has been optioned to AAA Round Rock, per the beats The Texas Rangers have optioned reliever Joe Barlow to AAA Round Rock, per the beats. This qualifies, I guess, as a mild surprise, as Barlow was seen as one of six pitchers whose spots in the bullpen were relatively safe. Barlow has not been sharp this spring, however, and his velocity has been down, and so he will be starting the season in the minors. Right now, the Rangers have Jose Leclerc, Jonathan Hernandez, Will Smith, Taylor Hearn and Brock...

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ A final bus trip The Texas Rangers make a final spring trek out to Mesa, Arizona where they will enjoy a Cactus League squabble against the Chicago Cubs from Sloan Park. LHP Andrew Heaney is set to take the mound for Texas opposite RHP Marcus Stroman for Chicago. Rangers lineup for March 24 at Chicago-NL. Today's game will air live on Bally Sports Southwest Extra via the Marquee Sports Network broadcast. A live audio webcast of today's game will also be available on https://t.co/CUYNmSQl68. pic.twitter.com/ufi2id61ww— Texas...

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ The ongoing winnowing of candidates for the Opening Day roster continues The Texas Rangers have informed outfielder Clint Frazier and first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo that they will not make the Opening Day roster, the team announced today. In addition, the team announced that outfielder Joe McCarthy and pitcher Reyes Moronta have been released. All four players were in camp on minor league deals. Of the four, Frazier seemed to have the best chance of making the roster, but even he faced an uphill battle after struggling in AAA for the...

Photo by Christian Petersen/ The Texas Rangers have announced that Jacob deGrom will be the team’s starting pitcher on Opening Day Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom will be the Opening Day starter, the team announced today. The Rangers open the season at home on March 30, 2023, against the Philadelphia Phillies. Game time is 3:05 p.m. Central. deGrom being named as the starter isn’t really a surprise — he is widely considered the best pitcher in baseball when he is healthy, and the Rangers landed him early in free agency with a 5 year, $185 million deal to head...

It’s that time of year! | Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports The Weather Interrupted, But Dudes Were Seen! It rained in the desert. Seriously. I was there. It was lovely, but also a bummer. Wiped out 2 of the four days I designated for backfield glory. Nonetheless, I got a good look at a pack of Rangers youngsters, so let’s get right into it. One of my faves is 3B Gleider Figuereo. He’s good and I think he stays at the hot corner. But I’m not sure how much physical projection you can give the dude. As you can see, he’s already a strong, thick guy for an 18 year...

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ Under the lights in Surprise The Texas Rangers are set to play their final night game of the Arizona portion of spring with the division rival Oakland Athletics in Surprise, AZ for a Cactus League clash. LHP Cole Ragans will pitch for Texas — perhaps with RHP Zack Littell starting, though. It’s hard to say — opposite LHP JP Sears for Oakland. Today's Lineups ATHLETICS RANGERS Nick Allen - SS Marcus Semien - 2B Conner Capel - RF Corey Seager - SS Ryan Noda - 1B Nathaniel Lowe - 1B Brent Rooker - DH Adolis Garcia -...

Photo by Carmen Mandato/ Things did not go great for the Rangers and Nick Solak in 2022 With the 2022 regular season over, it is that time where we go back and take a look at the players who appeared for the Texas Rangers this past season. Today, we look at infielder/outfielder Nick Solak. Man, did things not turn out for Nick Solak like we hoped. .207/.309/.329 slash line in 2022 in the majors. He started Opening Day going two for three with two walks and a home run, and things just went to shit after that. Solak was sent down in mid-May. If you are a masochist, you...

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ The Rangers are playing two baseball games at the same time today The Texas Rangers have halved themselves for a couple of games today with the Chicago White Sox making the trek to Surprise for a Cactus League contest while the Texas bus goers head over to Scottsdale to take on the San Francisco Giants. In Surprise, RHP Nathan Eovaldi will make the start for Texas opposite RHP Mike Clevinger for Chicago. Today's Lineups WHITE SOX RANGERS Elvis Andrus - 2B Bubba Thompson - CF Adam Haseley - CF Nathaniel Lowe - 1B Gavin...

Michael Prengler/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Longtime Texas Rangers radio voice Eric Nadel will not be in the broadcast booth for the start of the 2023 season Eric Nadel, longtime radio voice of the Texas Rangers, will not be in the broadcast booth for the start of the 2023 season. Nadel released a statement today indicating that he is receiving treatment for anxiety, insomnia and depression, and that as a result he will not be doing broadcasts when the season starts. Nadel has been broadcasting Rangers games since 1979, and I am one of countless...

Photo by Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/ Charlie Culberson did his thing for Texas in 2022 With the 2022 regular season over, it is that time where we go back and take a look at the players who appeared for the Texas Rangers this past season. Today, we look at infielder Charlie Culberson. Charlie Culberson has spent parts of 10 different seasons in the majors, appearing in at least one big league game every year from 2012 through 2022, except for 2015. Did you know he won a ring with the San Francisco Giants in 2012? He did! He appeared in six games that year for the...

Photo by Tom Pennington/ After struggling as a starter, Taylor Hearn got into a groove as a reliever With the 2022 regular season over, it is that time where we go back and take a look at the players who appeared for the Texas Rangers this past season. Today, we look at reliever Taylor Hearn. It was essentially a tale of two seasons for Taylor Hearn in 2022. Hearn started the year in the rotation and struggled. Hearn made thirteen starts for the Rangers to start the 2022 season and things did not go well. After getting knocked out in the fourth inning at Detroit on...

Photo by Dylan Buell/ Live and in color Diamond Sports Group has finally dragged their bankrupt asses to Surprise so the Texas Rangers are on TV today as they welcome the Cleveland Guardians to Surprise Stadium for a Cactus League tussle. Instead of Jacob deGrom, who started yesterday’s game, you get to watch RHP Dane Dunning pitch for Texas opposite RHP Hunter Gaddis for Cleveland. Today's Lineups GUARDIANS RANGERS Steven Kwan - LF Marcus Semien - 2B Amed Rosario - DH Corey Seager - SS Jose Ramirez - 3B Nathaniel Lowe - 1B Josh Naylor - 1B Adolis...

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/ A very bad year for a pitcher we had high hopes for With the 2022 regular season over, it is that time where we go back and take a look at the players who appeared for the Texas Rangers this past season. Today, we look at pitcher Spencer Howard. During his time in the big leagues in 2022, Spencer Howard walked 7.9% of the batters he faced, compared to 8.2% for MLB as a whole. So Spencer Howard was slightly better than average in 2022 when it came to not walking batters. That is the lone positive I can point to in Howard’s 2022...

Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/ With any luck you won’t get probed on National Alien Abduction Day Good morning. Evan Grant writes about Jacob deGrom making short work of his Cactus League debut for the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Kennedi Landry writes that being perhaps too logistically good was the only problem for deGrom in his first A game start. Jeff Wilson notes that deGrom will likely have to keep putting up with questions about his health but he should be ready for the start of the season. Grant writes that manager Bruce Bochy anticipates penciling Robbie...