The Texas Rangers are building their bullpen in the image of last year's unit, even if many of them are no longer with the team.
Texas signed a couple of solid relievers in free agency in Tyler Alexander and Alexis Diaz . There are some quality young arms on non-roster invitations that could push for a spot by opening day. There are some holdovers who were valuable to last year's bullpen that should have a good shot at making the team.
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Cole Winn is one of those players. The right-hander is on track to make the roster. But, if something goes a bit sideways and it comes down to him and another pitcher for a spot, he has a card he can play that many other pitchers on the roster can't.
Texas Rangers relief pitcher Cole Winn. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Winn is out of minor league options. Because of that, the Rangers can't simply send him back to the minor leagues if there is a roster spot at stake. Players have three option years, based on how they're used. But, once they're out of options, it becomes more difficult to clear them off the roster.
Let's say the Rangers are forced into make a move on Winn. He would have to be designated for assignment, where he would be exposed to waivers for any other team to pick up. If he clears, the Rangers could still trade him for something. Or, at that point, Texas could send him to the minor leagues, unless Winn has the service time to refuse the option. Then, he could become a free agency.
Nearly every Major League team must decide whether to play this gamble going into opening day. The question is whether they can get that player through the waiver process unclaimed. Sometimes teams get lucky. Other times, not so much.
Winn, a former first-round pick, was exceptional for the Rangers last season. He went 0-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 33 games. He struck out 35 and walked 17 in 41.2 innings. So far in spring training, he has allowed four hits and two runs in 4.2 innings. He has struck out five and walked none. So far, he's tracking toward an opening day job.
Crazy things can happen the closer a team gets to opening day. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the emphasis after Tuesday's off day was more on winning games than on working on pitch shapes. For pitchers like Winn the emphasis is on showing he can handle the leverage situations he'll be asked to handle in the regular season.
So, if it comes down to a comparable younger player that can do the same thing, but has options, it could work to Winn's advantage. That's his leverage.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as The Non-Obvious Texas Rangers Player Who Has Real Roster Leverage .
