Rangers starter Cody Bradford has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib, manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The left-hander will be out of action for at least another month. He has been on the injured list since April 14 with what the team initially indicated was a lower back strain. The injury interrupted what had been a strong start to the season. The Baylor product secured the fifth starter spot out of camp. He’d done everything in his power over his first three outings to keep hold of that job. Bradford allowed only four run ..read more

First baseman Jared Walsh has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The Rangers had designated the former All-Star for assignment over the weekend. Walsh broke camp with Texas while Nathaniel Lowe was sidelined by an oblique injury. He collected hits in seven of his first eight games before falling into a slump. In 60 total plate appearances, Walsh hit .226/.317/.321 with one home run and a pair of doubles. He struck out 21 times, a huge 35% clip. Once Lowe made his return, Texas squeezed Walsh off the roster. It has been t ..read more

The Rangers have claimed left-handed reliever Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Mets, per a team announcement. The Rangers’ 40-man roster is now at capacity. Ingram was designated for assignment when the Mets selected Tomas Nido’s contract in the wake of Francisco Alvarez’s thumb injury. Ingram has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock for now. Ingram, 27, made his big league debut with the Angels in 2023 but totaled just 5 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits and five walks in that tiny sample but did fan seven of his 30 opponents. He’s had far more success in the upper minors, log ..read more

The Rangers have reached an agreement with veteran starter Johnny Cueto, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link). It’s a minor league deal, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. Cueto is represented by Primo Sports Group. Cueto finds a landing spot after lingering in free agency for the entire winter. It was a marked change from the previous offseason, when he found a solid $8.5MM deal from the Marlins. At that point, the right-hander was coming off a 3.35 ERA showing over 25 appearances for the White Sox. His time in Miami wasn’t nearly as productive, as he missed a good portion of ..read more

The Astros have struggled badly to open the year as they currently sit dead last in the AL West with a 7-15 record, four games back of Seattle and Texas for the division lead. Club GM Dana Brown recently spoke to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle regarding the club’s deep early season struggles, including commenting on the status of veteran first baseman Jose Abreu. Abreu, 37, has hit an anemic .073/.148/.091 with a 27.9% strikeout rate and just one extra-base hit in his first 61 trips to the plate this season. While that’s a fairly small sample size, it comes on the heels of a 2023 campa ..read more

The Rangers announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, led by the club designating first baseman Jared Walsh for assignment. Taking Walsh’s spot on the active roster will be first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who the club has activate from the 10-day injured list. In addition, Texas announced that catcher Jonah Heim has been placed on the bereavement list, with catcher Sam Huff recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the big league roster. Walsh, 30, joined the Rangers on a minor league deal and his .250/.368/.458 slash line in 57 spring plate appearances impressed enough to earn the slu ..read more

Rangers reliever Brock Burke underwent surgery to repair a fractured metacarpal in his right (non-throwing) hand on Thursday, the team announced (X link via Kennedy Landry of MLB.com). It’s unclear precisely how long he’ll be out of action. Texas placed Burke on the 60-day injured list this week, ruling him out until at least the middle of June. Burke suffered the injury last week when he punched a dugout wall in frustration. That came on the heels of another poor outing in what had been a rough start to the season. The southpaw has given up five runs through his first three innings. Burk ..read more

Former big league right-hander Odell Jones has passed away, per John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now. No cause of death was given for Jones, who was 71. Born in California in 1953, Jones was signed by the Pirates as an undrafted free agent in 1971. He made his debut with that club in 1975 but tossed just three innings. He got a more proper run of play in the show in 1977, tossing 108 innings for the Bucs in a swing role. He posted an earned run average of 5.08 over 15 starts and 19 relief appearances. Jones would go on to bounce around the league, serving in various roles. He was traded to ..read more

When Max Scherzer underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in December, the Rangers announced that he would likely be on the shelf into late June. A few weeks ago, GM Chris Young indicated the team wasn’t going to place Scherzer on the 60-day injured list, however, as his rehab had progressed to the point that there was optimism he could return at some point in late May. That timetable has been pushed up even further now, it seems. Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News wrote this week that Scherzer will throw 40 pitches against live hitters Friday — his second session agai ..read more

The Rangers have signed righties Shaun Anderson and Collin Wiles to minor league pacts, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both pitchers have been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. This will mark the 29-year-old Anderson’s second stint in the Rangers organization. Texas claimed him off waivers from the Twins in 2021, but he lasted less than a month in the organization before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles. A former third-round pick by the Red Sox, Anderson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, totaling 135 2/3 frames with an unsightly 5.84 ERA. Fie ..read more