Rangers become latest team to sign former Guardians Game 1 playoff starter

Texas Rangers, former Cleveland Guardians Game 1 playoff starter Cal Quantrill agree to minor league deal

The Rangers have signed former Guardians right-handed starting pitcher Cal Quantrill to a minor league deal, according to The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant. Quantrill, who finished the 2025 campaign in the Rangers organization, will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Last offseason, the Miami Marlins signed Quantrill to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. After struggling with a 5.50 ERA in 109 2/3 innings across 24 starts with Miami, Quantrill was designated for assignment in late August and claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves. He made just two starts for the Braves, allowing 12 earned runs in eight innings before being released in early September. The Rangers signed Quantrill to a minor league deal on September 7, and the righty finished the season allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk in 11 innings over two starts for Triple-A Round Rock.

The San Diego Padres selected Quantrill from Stanford with the 8th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. He pitched for the Padres from 2019-20, managing a 4.79 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings. On August 31, 2020, the Padres traded Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges, Gabriel Arias, Joey Cantillo and Owen Miller to the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in exchange for Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and Matt Waldron.

Quantrill finished the 2020 season by posting a 1.84 ERA in 17 1/3 innings for the Guardians. He faced two batters during Game 2 of the 2020 American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees, surrendering one walk and collecting one strikeout as the Yankees won 10-9 to sweep the best-of-3 series.

Quantrill had the best season of his career in 2021 with Cleveland, posting 3.7 bWAR and a 2.89 ERA with 121 strikeouts and 47 walks in 149 2/3 innings across 40 outings (22 starts). During the following season, the righty had a 3.38 ERA with 128 strikeouts and 47 walks in 186 1/3 regular-season innings before starting Games 1 and 4 of the 2021 American League Division Series against the Yankees. He hurled five innings in each start, allowing four runs (three earned) in Game 1 and three earned runs in Game 4. He suffered the loss in both games, and the Yankees won Game 5 of the series 5-1 to advance to the American League Championship Series.

After a rough 2023 season with the Guardians, in which he posted a 5.24 ERA in 99 2/3 innings, Quantrill was dealt to the Colorado Rockies. He had a 4.98 ERA in 148 1/3 innings during his lone season with Colorado.

What will Cal Quantrill's role be on the 2026 Texas Rangers?

The Rangers' 2026 starting rotation will include Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, Jack Leiter and either Kumar Rocker or Jacob Latz. Cody Bradford is expected to return in May as well. Even with their abundance of starting pitching, the Rangers are ensuring they have as much starting pitching depth as possible, as they also signed Austin Gomber and Nabil Crismatt to minor league deals earlier in the offseason. Quantrill will likely either be stashed in Triple-A until a starting pitcher suffers an injury or he will be used as a bullpen arm.