New Texas Rangers Pitcher 'Excited' for Reunion With Team That Drafted Him

The Texas Rangers have reunited with their former pitcher after a long time away, and he's ready to make his mark on the franchise that drafted him.

Jun 8, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luke Jackson (77) throws during the game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park in Arlington | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers went into this offseason with the idea of reconstructing their bullpen.

They accomplished that in spades, signing Jacob Webb, Chris Martin, Hoby Milner and Shawn Armstrong while also acquiring Robert Garcia in a trade.

Closer is a question mark for the Rangers, something that will be determined during spring camp and could even be a by-committee approach during the early part of the year until someone emerges. But there's no doubt this unit is revamped after they finished with an ERA that was tied for 25th in the MLB last season.

Texas wasn't satisfied with the additions they made, though.

In a late-offseason move, they reunited with their former first-round pick Luke Jackson.

The right-hander was taken 45th overall in the 2010 draft out of high school, and after five years in the minors, he finally made his Major League debut in 2015.

Things didn't go as planned for either side.

Jackson made just 15 appearances and posted an 8.50 ERA across the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, prompting the Rangers to trade him to the Atlanta Braves after the latter season.

It took him a while to find his footing, but he remained with the Braves as he matured during his career, eventually becoming an important piece of their World Series-winning team in 2021 while pitching to a sizzling 1.98 ERA across his 71 appearances.

But after that, Jackson underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2022, eventually signing with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent and returning to the mound during the 2023 campaign.

Now, the right-hander is back with Texas at 33 years old, ready to make his mark on the team that once took a chance on him out of high school.

"I was like, 'OK, this is the real world,'" Jackson said with a laugh according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. "I'm excited, it was top of my list to come back. It was really cool to fly around the sun and come back again, which is kind of rare."

He's the latest addition to the revamped bullpen, and he has the ability to help this team get back into contention, a motivating factor for why he chose to come back to the Rangers.

"This team, I think, is the reason I chose here, and another reason I really wanted to play here. I think it seems very good. I think the commitment to winning is pretty cool. Seeing all the guys that they went out and signed, it's a division where I think Texas is gonna make some noise," Jackson added.

He'll play a major part in that.