Texas Rangers Sign Former Cardinal to Minor League Deal

After bouncing around in 2025, he's hoping to stay put with Texas this season

Jul 5, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (47) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have been adding depth to their rotation over the past week, starting off with the big trade to acquire Mackenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals, giving the Rangers yet another solid starter option to go along with a group that already includes Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter.

The Rangers followed up the Gore addition with a pair of minor-league depth additions, first adding Austin Gomber, followed by former Stanford Cardinal Cal Quantrill. Gomber's claim to fame is that he was part of the return that the Colorado Rockies received in the Nolan Arenado deal back in 2021. Gomber spent the past five years with the Rockies, and holds a career 5.08 ERA.

Quantrill and Gomber were teammates in Colorado in 2024, where the former Stanford Cardinal held a 4.98 ERA across an impressive 148 1/3 innings of work. He went on to sign with the Miami Marlins last February, and made 24 starts with the club in 2025. He held a 5.50 ERA (5.14 FIP) with a 1.39 WHIP last year.

He ended up on waivers in late August, and the pitching-needy Atlanta Braves scooped him up for a couple of starts where he combined for eight innings of work and a 13.50 ERA. Atlanta ended up releasing him in early September, only for Quantrill to sign a minor-league deal with the Rangers before the end of the Triple-A season.

Quantrill made two starts with Round Rock, totaling 11 innings and a 1.64 ERA. He also walked just one in that small sample size and struck out an impressive 14.

The righty is set to turn 31 on February 10, and is projected to finish with a 5.01 ERA (4.81 FIP) across 82 innings of work in 2026, according to FanGraphs' Depth Charts.

His main competition to a spot on the Opening Day roster could be Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler, who has racked up a total of 7 2/3 innings as high as Double-A. Baumler is currently listed as the Rangers' long-man out of the bullpen according to Roster Resource, thanks to him needing to stay on the 40-man roster of the Rangers all season if he's to stay in the organization.

Serving as the long reliever seems like the best shot for Quantrill to make it up to the roster the soonest, although Patrick Corbin found a spot in the rotation for nearly the entire 2025 campaign after being an ineffective innings eater from 2021-2024 with the Washington Nationals. Corbin led the league in losses in three of those four seasons, going 31-63, and held a 5.71 ERA.

Last season with Texas, Corbin made 31 appearances (30 starts) and held a 4.40 ERA (4.25 FIP) in his best season in years. Perhaps Quantrill can follow a similar path in 2026 and serve as another innings eater for the Rangers. At the very least, he's a solid veteran option for Texas to lean upon if needed.