Rangers trade for reliever in deal with Reds to bolster bullpen

The Texas Rangers have had a very quiet offseason. With the core of their World Series winning team retained, they haven't needed to concern themselves much with their offense, but the rotation and bullpen are still in need of some help.

"Some help," in regards to the bullpen, might be a bit of an understatement. The Rangers' relievers had the seventh-worst ERA at the end of the season, and their championship came thanks to standout performances from the rotation and in spite of the weakness of the bullpen.

While the bulk of the team's transactions so far have been signing players to minor league deals, they have also added free agents Kirby Yates and Tyler Mahle to help the bullpen issue. In their most recent move, they've sent cash to the Reds in exchange for reliever Daniel Duarte.

Rangers trade for reliever in deal with Reds to bolster bullpen

Duarte, who was signed by the Rangers back in 2013 as an international free agent, pitched 31 2/3 innings in his second stint with the Reds in 2023. He's experienced a lot of movement throughout his career; he was picked up by the Royals as a Rule 5 draftee in 2017 but was released in 2019. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds for the first time in 2020 but didn't play due to the pandemic-shortened season, then spent a short time in the Mexican League before returning to the Reds in the summer of 2021 before finally getting his major league debut in 2022.

He was called up from Triple-A with the Reds in June 2023 and spent the rest of the season in the major leagues, pitching for a 3.69 ERA with one save and 23 strikeouts. He'll rejoin the Rangers at the major league level and fill up their 40-man roster as Texas looks to revamp a bullpen that was the team's biggest weakness in 2023.