Rangers sign Dodgers spring training star, promote intriguing young arm amid flurry of roster moves

If there's one thing that Chris Young deserves credit for, it's the way he's scoured high and low to find overlooked contributors and build depth for the Texas Rangers this season. The prime examples being Elias Diaz and Nicky Lopez, both of whom were plucked off the scrap heap and have become vital contributors.

Young has been on the prowl again, signing infielder Santiago Espinal to a minor league deal along with right-handed pitcher Austin Voth. Espinal took the Los Angeles Dodgers by storm as a non-roster invitee to spring training, hitting .378/.415/.644 and finding a way to crack LA's stacked roster to begin the season. He'd last 36 games with the Dodgers, hitting .268/.276/.375 over 60 plate appearances before finally being cut loose for good.

Espinal has experience at every position on the diamond except catcher. He might not seem like an earth-shattering move, and very well might simply exist as an emergency depth option down in Round Rock, but the same could've been said for Lopez and Diaz. At the very least, should Texas need him, he can be a serviceable bench piece overall.

As for Voth, the 34-year-old is a journeyman arm who got some light action earlier this year with a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings split between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins. In Triple-A for both organizations, he's made 11 starts and tossed 44 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA. The 2013 fifth-round pick spent last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's NPB, where he made 22 starts and recorded a 3.96 ERA in 122 innings.

Texas has consistently been looking for fresh arms, and Voth has experience both starting and coming out of the bullpen. With that said, there's no guarantee he ever sees time in Arlington.

Rangers call up recently acquired reliever Ben Peoples, who could be a name to watch

It didn't take long for Ben Peoples to get his big league opportunity. After acquiring the 25-year-old on Tuesday evening, Peoples got the call yesterday to join the Rangers, with top prospect Winston Santos getting sent down to Round Rock after getting shellacked in his own big league debut.

While Santos was clearly not ready for primetime and was only brought up to be a sacrificial lamb, Peoples might have some runway to earn a job.

The former 22nd-round pick in 2019 (a round that no longer exists in the draft) moved to the bullpen last season and found immediate success in the minors. The move brought his fastball from 93-95 miles per hour to 95-97 miles per hour, which pairs nicely with his superb slider.

This year, he's made 29 appearances and logged 37 2/3 innings with a 2.39 ERA, 3.61 FIP, and a 30% strikeout rate, though walks are an issue coming in at 14%. Opposing hitters are batting just .156 against him.

A lack of depth in the lower-leverage roles has been an issue in the Texas bullpen, so it will be interesting if Peoples, along with talented youngster Robby Ahlstrom, can establish themselves as solutions moving forward. This promotion seems to be more than simply a move for a fresh arm.

Rangers get promising injury updates on a number of players, including Jack Leiter and Cody Bradford

Part of the shuffling yesterday was transferring Jordan Montgomery's rehab assignment from Frisco to Round Rock. Montgomery had thrown three scoreless innings in Frisco over two outings, striking out four and allowing just one hit. He got the start last night for Round Rock and found much less success, pitching two innings with three strikeouts but giving up two earned runs. His velocity maxed out at 90.8 miles per hour in the first inning. It's probably going to take a while for him to be fully ready.

Aside from Montgomery, there were several other updates on the injury front. Brandon Nimmo, who hasn't played since Sunday with a sprained A/C joint in his left shoulder, is on track to return to the lineup this weekend. Interestingly, the Rangers have averaged six runs per game over four games this week without Nimmo, Corey Seager, and Wyatt Langford. Hopefully, the injury has no lingering effects, and Nimmo can enhance the lineup even more.

Cody Freeman successfully underwent surgery to deal with a herniated disk and received a positive prognosis that should have him ready to return within a month. The question will be, will the Rangers actually have a spot on the big league roster for him by then?

Cody Bradford threw a live batting practice session. He's scheduled to throw one more before beginning a rehab assignment. His coming back healthy would be a big insurance policy in the event that Jordan Montgomery struggles upon his return in an attempt to replace the injured Jack Leiter.

Speaking of Leiter, he played catch for the first time following arthroscopic surgery on his ankle. That's the first step of many towards a return, which, on the optimistic side of things, could occur as early as August.

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