The Two New Texas Rangers

Sep 16, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Andy Parrino (12) throws the ball to second base against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers added two players over the last few days: utility infielder Andy Parrino and left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders. Parrino is a player that I am not very familiar with. He made his major league debut on August 26, 2011 with the Padres. Parrino played in 79 games for the Padres and hit .200/.319/.256/.576 with one home run and ten RBI in 160 at bats. The 28-year-old then went to the Oakland Athletics where he hit .118/.167/.176/.343 in only 34 at bats. He has spent time at second (23 games), short stop (37 games), third base (15 games) and even some in the outfield (5 games in right field and one game in left field). He is on the Texas Rangers forty man roster but has not been assigned a number yet. What do I expect from Parrino? I am not sure. His offensive numbers are not great, and he is defensive WAR is -2. Just another guy for the Texas Rangers to get a look at and see if he is worth keeping around. We will see him in a game soon in my opinion and then we will see if the Rangers want to hang on to him

Joe Saunders was brought to camp to compete for one of the two remaining starters spots. Saunders has good career numbers, his career ERA is 4.30, and his ERA over the past three seasons is 4.37, so you know what you are getting from Saunders. The question is, will that be better than Tommy Hanson, Colby Lewis, Nick Tepesch, Tanner Scheppers or Robbie Ross? That is something that we will not know until the competition plays out. All I know is that competition is never a bad thing and so I look forward to seeing what these guys can do with all of the competition around them. Someone will step up, I just don’t know who that will be. Saunders has as good a chance as any in my opinion.