Rangers Reportedly Sign Journeyman Minor League Relief Pitcher

Texas has made a low-risk, high-reward signing ahead of spring training.

Texas Rangers hat and glove | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

This offseason hasn't been one where the Texas Rangers have made some big moves and spent a lot of money. That should not be a surprise. President of baseball operations, Chris Young, did add through a pair of trades, though.

Early in the offseason, he sent Marcus Semien to the New York Mets for Brandon Nimmo. In January, he came out of nowhere to acquire left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals. Slotting Gore with Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom gives the Rangers a very solid top-of-the-rotation, assuming they can all stay healthy.

One area where there has been a roster overhaul has been with the Texas bullpen. The Rangers lost several pieces and are looking to rebuild for first-year manager Skip Schumaker. So far, Texas has re-signed Chris Martin and signed Tyler Alexander and Jakob Junis.

On Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed pitcher Josh Hejka.

Rangers Reportedly Sign Right-Handed Submarine Free Agent to Minor League Deal

Chris Young | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

This is just the latest move in the Rangers' reshaping of their bullpen for 2026. Hejka has spent time with both the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, but he has not made his major league debut. He does have a unique sidearm delivery that can be deceptive to hitters.

The 28-year-old Hejka spent the 2025 season with the Phillies organization, working out of the bullpen, and was part of a High-A no-hitter in July for Philadelphia's affiliate. During his professional career in the minors, he has pitched 221.2 innings with 119 strikeouts and 68 walks. He has an 11-8 record with a 4.06 ERA in 153 appearances.

Last year, right before spring training began, he trolled himself on X (formerly Twitter) when the Phillies acquired him from the Mets in exchange for cash. He quoted the post from Phillies Tailgate and said, "Can't believe @JeffPassan wasn't on the Hejka for a bag of balls trade first smh". You have to love the sense of humor of someone who has been a journeyman in the minors.

Right-handed submariner Josh Hejka and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a minor league contract, a source tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/gLWNvnnQk1

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2026

This is a low-risk, high-reward move for Texas ahead of spring training. Their bullpen was key last year, and they lost some key arms in free agency. They did bring Martin back, but there are more questions than answers heading into spring training. A position of strength at one point will have a lot of eyes on it ahead of the regular season.

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