Texas Rangers: Jeffrey Springs, Kyle Bird Designated for Assignment

The Texas Rangers announced the signings of free agents Robinson Chirinos and Todd Frazier on Wednesday, meaning Jeffrey Springs and Kyle Bird were DFA’d.

On Wednesday at 12:30 PM, the Texas Rangers held an introductory press conference for their two newest free agent signings, Robinson Chirinos and Todd Frazier. Both deals were reported a few days ago by numerous outlets but were yet to be made official until Wednesday.

Chirinos and Frazier represent moves made by Texas to try and improve two problem positions from the 2019 season, catcher and third base. Chirinos, who spent six seasons with the Rangers from 2013-18, joined the Houston Astros in 2019 and helped drive them towards a World Series appearance. His departure in 2019 left a sour taste in the mouth of many fans as his player option was declined by Texas, allowing him to join Houston.

Frazier is a well known veteran in the game and is coming off a season with the New York Mets in which he showed an ability to continue being an everyday player in the field. He’s remained a consistent producer at the plate and provides respectable defense at third base, a position which the Rangers struggled to fill last season. At this point, Frazier is likely to be the regular third baseman despite ever present rumors that Texas is involved in the trade saga surrounding Colorado’s Nolan Arenado.

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In announcing these two moves and making them official, Texas had to make two corresponding moves to open up spots on their 40-man roster, which was full. The club announced that LHP Kyle Bird and LHP Jeffrey Springs had been designated for assignment which opened up a pair of spots on the 40-man roster.

Bird joined the Rangers last offseason in the deal that sent long time top prospect Jurickson Profar to the Oakland Athletics. He made his big league debut last season for Texas and threw 12.2 innings in 12 relief appearances. In the small sample size he finished with a 7.82 ERA and 10.79 FIP with a strikeout rate of 7.11%. His Triple-A numbers though are much more appealing making 29 appearances and posting a 2.86 ERA and a 10.13% strikeout rate.

Like Bird, Springs is a lefty reliever albeit with more experience. The 27-year old debuted for Texas in 2018 and has since thrown 64.1 innings in 43 games, predominantly in relief. His career ERA sits at 4.90 with a 4.62 FIP to go with an 8.81% strikeout rate. He struggled in 2019 though finishing with a 6.40 ERA in 25 appearances although his 4.98 FIP suggests he was a bit unlucky statistically.

Following the roster moves made by the Rangers on Wednesday, Texas currently has a full 40-man roster. That means that any other moves made this offseason either must be trades involving a corresponding number of players on the 40-man or somebody will have to be designated for assignment to open up spots for free agents. Texas still remains in play for the top two position free agents on the market, Nick Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna, among other teams.