Final weekend, stories surfaced that the Rangers had some “inner discussions” about transferring Jon Grey from the rotation to the nearer’s position, in a inventive strategy to handle each their want for a better and an on-paper surplus of beginning pitchers. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem as if the idea superior past the speculative section, as each supervisor Bruce Bochy and president of baseball operations Chris Younger advised reporters (together with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning Information) that they each considered Grey as assuming his normal starter position this season.
Grey mentioned that he additionally hadn’t been approached concerning the concept, even when he was broadly open to closing if it meant serving to the group. However, he additionally set some lofty targets for his 2025 season, saying that he was “seeking to eat lots of innings. I’d hopefully prefer to get to that 200-strikeout mark. That might be cool. The swing-and-miss and strikeout price is one thing I actually need to enhance and I believe it’s headed in the proper route.”
Grey’s profession excessive in strikeouts is 185, set again in his first full MLB season in 2016 when the righty was nonetheless with the Rockies. His private finest for innings is 172 1/3 frames within the 2018 season, and he has topped the 150-inning threshold in 4 of his 10 large league seasons. Most not too long ago, Grey tossed 102 2/3 innings final 12 months, as he twice hit the injured record resulting from groin strains, and he underwent season-ending surgical procedure in early September to take away a neuroma on the center toe of his proper foot.
“I’m proud of the best way the surgical procedure went and had a very good offseason,” Grey mentioned, noting that the neuroma had been bothering him for nearly a 12 months, and certain contributed to his groin issues. The accidents clearly hampered Grey’s efficiency, as he posted a 4.47 ERA and the bottom full-season strikeout price (19.6%) of his profession.
Past his pure aggressive spirit in rebounding from a down 12 months, Grey has much more incentive to bounce again since he’s set to hit free company subsequent winter. Grey is within the remaining season of the four-year, $56MM deal he signed with Texas throughout the 2021-22 offseason, and there was some hypothesis that the Rangers may look to commerce Grey this winter with a view to clear some cash off the books. No such deal occurred, and thus the 33-year-old Grey is now on the lookout for a pleasant platform 12 months as he approaches the open market as soon as extra.
If Grey isn’t the nearer or one other reliever isn’t introduced into the fold, Chris Martin appears to be like like the favourite for saves, assuming that Texas even sticks with a set ninth-inning choice. Bochy advised MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and different reporters that “it may be by committee…So under no circumstances are we getting locked in on any roles proper now. I believe we’re going to remain versatile with that.”
To this finish, Bochy mentioned he hasn’t talked to Martin particularly about working in a closing capability, however the skipper feels his relievers are “fantastic with not having an outlined position. They’re used to it, together with Chris….All of them have nice attitudes. They’re like, ’Hey, we’re there to get outs and use us the place you want us to assist win a ballgame.’ And that’s how that works.”
Martin has amassed solely 14 saves over his 9 MLB seasons, although he identified to Landry that he had 22 saves over his two seasons in Japan with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2016-17. Getting some sustained run as a better is perhaps a enjoyable means for Martin to wind up his profession, however he plans to take the identical method irrespective of how he’s utilized out of the Rangers’ bullpen.
“With closing, you continue to gotta get three outs,” Martin mentioned. “It’s simply the final three of the sport, so it may be somewhat extra nerve wracking, however I’ve been round a bit now and I perceive it’s simply one other three outs, regardless of the run scenario is.”
Robert Garcia is one other newly-acquired reliever ticketed for high-leverage innings, because the Rangers acquired Garcia from the Nationals in return for Nathaniel Lowe in December. The left-hander has but to correctly kick off his first Spring Coaching along with his new group, nonetheless, resulting from some nerve irritation in his forearm. The difficulty doesn’t appear too critical, as Bochy advised Landry that Garcia is slated to throw his first bullpen session of the spring on Tuesday.
