Texas Rangers to Add Wandy Rodriguez to Rotation

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers will be adding Wandy Rodriguez to their major league roster, and will have him start on Friday. The lefty Rodriguez was signed to a minor league deal when the season began, and due to the number of injuries the team has faced in the early going, as well as some ineffective pitching, Rodriguez will be getting a look when the Rangers visit the Angels over the weekend.

The 36-year old Rodriguez has performed well in two minor league outings with the Round Rock Express, totaling seven innings while allowing two runs and recording ten strikeouts. As Grant states, with Rodriguez aboard, the Rangers will need to make a corresponding roster move to make room. Those options seem to be Anthony Bass, Stolmy Pimentel and Logan Verrett.

While Bass has arguably pitched the best of the trio, he may find himself on the outside looking in when decision time is over. Pimentel was just added to the roster in his own right, and is out of minor league options, while Verrett is a Rule 5 pick, and would have to be offered back to the New York Mets (who could use a reliever at the moment) before being sent to Triple-A. The decision will not be an easy one, and no matter which player is selected, the move will likely be second guessed.

With Wandy being added, the rotation will now consist of Nick Martinez (0.45 ERA), Colby Lewis (3.79), Yovani Gallardo (3.92) and Ross Detwiler (10.95). Outside of Detwiler’s early performance, the Texas Rangers would probably take what they’re getting from this group, considering the circumstances. If Rodriguez can eat up some innings and keep the team in the game, the Rangers could have a decent makeshift rotation moving forward.

Last season the southpaw struggled, putting up a 6.75 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh, but from 2010 to 2013 he averaged a 3.62 ERA and 164 innings per season, which is perfectly acceptable if the offense wakes up a bit.

Overall, I’m optimistic about this addition to the rotation. Best case scenario is that he performs well and helps the team pick up some extra victories. Worst case scenario is that he keeps a spot warm for the early debut of Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez. With the Rangers set to face each divisional rival over the next four series, adding a starter that should go a bit deeper into games could be a huge plus to ensure the bullpen doesn’t get taxed too early.

Next: Rangers Sticking With Detwiler--For Now