Rangers bullpen rebuild continues with minor league deal to familiar right-hander

The Texas Rangers are slowly piecing together their bullpen one minor league deal at a time after reportedly agreeing to bring back right-hander Nabil Crismatt.

Crismatt, who turned 31 on Christmas Day, will get a chance to be a critical part of the Rangers' bullpen in 2026 with a spring training invite following last year's season with Arizona.

If that name sounds familiar to Rangers' fans, then you must pay super close attention to roster transcations because Crismatt had a brief eight game stinty with Triple-A Round Rock during the 2024 season before being released in June.

Crismatt's deal latest in Rangers' minor league additions

It's been an offseason of minor league deals for the Rangers, who have signed 11 players since the start of free agency in November. Among those are five pitchers among the list that are part of a battle for bullpen spots before Opening Day

First there was Declan Cronin, then Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, followed by Gavin Collyer, Anthony Veneziano and now Crismatt.

For Crismatt, this will be his second stint with the organization and his eighth overall team since being signed by the New York Mets in 2012. Although in that span, he's only played in the big leagues for four teams.

In 2025, he spent that year in his second stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks. During that time he played eight games, starting five of them, and went 3-0 with a 3.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts and nine walks in 34 innings of work.

Crismatt joins a rebuilding bullpen that has lost most of their former relievers to other teams and has been replaced by other minor league deals or project arms. While it may not sound positive for the Rangers, it could be positive for Crismatt who has a great chance to earn a job for next year.