Rangers Reportedly Sign Veteran Relief Pitcher to Minor League Deal

Texas is bringing in another veteran to compete for a roster spot in the bullpen in spring training.

Texas Rangers hat | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Going into the offseason, the Texas Rangers have made it a priority to reshape their bullpen. President of baseball operations Chris Young has made some signings to allow first-year manager Skip Schumaker to see what he has this spring training.

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Rangers pitchers and catchers will have their first workouts next Tuesday in Arizona, with the first full squad workout being on February 15. As far as the overhaul of the bullpen goes, Texas has re-signed Chris Martin, but they have focused on adding through free agency.

On Thursday, they agreed to a deal with 28-year-old Josh Hejka. He has yet to make his major league debut after spending time in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets organizations.

You can never have enough battles in training camp and on Friday, it is being reported that Texas is bringing in veteran right-hander Ryan Brasier on a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp to compete for a bullpen spot in 2026. It was first reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive and confirmed by Rangers beat writer Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Rangers Reportedly Signing Free Agent Relief Pitcher Ryan Brasier to Minor League Deal

Ryan Brasier | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Clearly, there has been some attention given to the bullpen for the Rangers this winter and Brasier is a veteran who has bounced around during his career. He started with the Los Angeles Angels for just seven games before carving out a key role in the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox for six years from 2018-23, where he won a World Series. He pitched a year and a half with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning a second World Series in 2024, before spending last season with the Chicago Cubs.

Last season, Brasier pitched in just 28 games due to a groin injury and his numbers were not great. In 26 innings, he had a 4.50 ERA with a -0.2 WAR. Again, it was a short sample size due to injuries, but the 38-year-old is hoping to catch on with the Rangers in what will likely be his last chance in his career.

Similar to Hejka, this is a low-risk, high-reward potential move for Young and Texas. Brasier is someone who, when healthy, worked in a lot of high-volume situations for both the Red Sox and Dodgers and was very successful. The remake of the Rangers' bullpen is a priority this offseason and there are going to be a lot of camp battles to make the Opening Day roster.

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