The 2018 Texas Rangers: Where are they now?

During the month of February, I am going to be posting a series called “Where are they now?”.  In this series, the rosters for the Texas Rangers teams will be investigated.  In the 7th installment, players from the 2018 team will be examined. (All stats used were extracted from baseball-reference.com)

The Texas Rangers continued their slide with a record of 67-95, good for last place in the AL West in 2018.  This would be the second of five consecutive losing seasons for the Rangers.

2018 Texas Rangers Starting Pitching

In December 2017, Mike Minor signed a three-year free agency contract with the Texas Rangers.  In 28 starts, Minor had a record of 12-8 with a 4.18 ERA.  Minor was traded to Oakland on August 31, 2020 in a deal that brought Texas MILB Player-of-the-Year, Dustin Harris, to the Rangers organization.  Minor had four starts with Oakland in 2020, and then was granted free agency.  Minor returned to Kansas City after the 2020 season and is currently a member of the Royals starting rotation.

Bartolo Colon finished his MLB career pitching for Texas in 2018.  At 45, Colon pitched 28 games with 24 starts.  Colon had a record of 7-12 with a 5.78 ERA.  At the end of the 2018 season, Colon elected free agency.  At 48, Colon is currently a member of the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.

Cole Hamels was in his 4th season in Texas in 2018.  In 20 starts,  Hamels had a record of 5-9, and a 4.72 ERA.  On July 27, 2018, Hamels was traded to the Chicago Cubs.  After leaving Texas, Hamels made 40 starts over parts of three seasons for two teams.  Hamels made a comeback attempt with the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 2021, but arm pain forced him to the 60-day injured list.  Now 38, Hamels is currently a free agent.

Yovani Gallardo finished his MLB career pitching for Texas in 2018.  In 18 starts, Gallardo pitched 92.0 innings, had a record of 8-8, and a 5.77 ERA.  Today, Gallardo still resides in Fort Worth, TX.

Martin Perez was in his 7th season with the Rangers  in 2018.  In 22 games, including 15 starts, Perez pitched 85.1 innings, and went 2-7 with a 6.22 ERA.  Perez was granted free agency after the 2018 season.  Perez pitched one season in Minnesota and the last two seasons in Boston.  Perez is currently a free agent.

In his final season pitching in MLB, Doug Fister made 12 starts for Texas in 2018.  Fister pitched 66.0 innings, with a 1-7 record, and a 4.50 ERA.  Fister retired from professional baseball before the start of Spring Training in 2019.

Matt Moore pitched one season in Texas.  In 39 games, including 12 starts, Moore pitched 102.0 innnings, had a 3-8 record, and a 6.79 ERA.  After the 2018 season, Moore was granted free agency.  Moore made two starts with Detroit in 2019 and pitched 24 games with Philadelphia in 2021.  Moore is currently a free agent.

Ariel Jurado was a rookie pitcher with Texas in 2018.  Jurado pitched in 12 games, including eight starts.  In 54.2 innings, Jurado had a record of 5-5 with a 5.93 ERA.  Jurado pitched one more season in Texas before he was traded to the New York Mets in August 2020.  Jurado made one start with the Mets in 2020 before he was granted free agency.