Rangers Notes: Cactus League Update No. 3

Twenty-three-year-old Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez has a 1-0 record with an ERA of 4.15 over eight and two-thirds innings pitched this spring.

Texas pitchers were shelled over the weekend to the tune of 35 earned runs across a combined 36 innings of work in four split-squad games Friday and Saturday.

Despite the fact that the games are merely Cactus League exhibitions and have no bearing on the regular season, the results are unsettling nevertheless.

Non-roster invitee Anthony Bass was rocked for eight runs (six earned) in less than one inning pitched Friday against the Dodgers in San Antonio, with all the runs scoring on homers by Yasiel Puig, Matt Carson and Joc Pederson.

Rotation candidate Anthony Ranaudo then gave up four runs on six hits across four frames at the Alamodome on Saturday, and southpaw Joe Beimel saw his spring ERA jump to 33.00 when he allowed three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning later that afternoon in Arizona.

A couple of nice surprises on the pitching front for the Rangers have been starter Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez and reliever Keone Kela, both of whom have worked their way into the discussion for spots on the Opening Day roster.

Gonzalez, 23, was a first-round draft pick by Texas out of Oral Roberts University in 2013, and he quickly climbed the organizational depth chart to be named the Rangers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season.

Across a combined 138 innings split between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco, he posted a record of 12-6 with a 2.67 earned run average and 113 strikeouts over 25 starts (plus one relief appearance).

A few strong Cactus League performances this spring have put Gonzalez into consideration for a starting job behind – presumably – Yovani Gallardo, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis.

“Baseball to me is a game of adjustments,” he said. “I’ve learned to make quick adjustments as the game goes. I’ve had a couple of outings where I’ve done okay. I’m trying to take the positives out of it and prepare me for wherever I am.”

Keone Kela, meanwhile, has looked sharp in his five appearances so far this month, not yet allowing a run while yielding just one base hit over five-plus innings on the mound.

Infielder Pastornicky Agrees to Minors Deal

The Rangers signed middle infielder Tyler Pastornicky to a minor-league contract on Sunday, less than a week after he had been released by the Atlanta Braves.

Pastornicky enjoyed a solid big-league debut with Atlanta in 2012 when he connected for eight extra-base hits and 12 RBIs over the season’s first two months, but the emergence of Andrelton Simmons had relegated him to minor-league and pinch-hitting duties since then.

The 25-year-old cleared through waivers when he was removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster in January, and he will likely provide infield depth at Triple-A Round Rock.

Kirkman, Choice among First Cuts

Texas made its first round of spring roster cuts last Tuesday, trimming its active roster by seven players with a series of moves.

Left-hander Michael Kirkman, a 2005 draft pick of the Rangers, was released after 10 years of service in the Texas system, often filling a multi-inning relief role out of the bullpen and getting some starts in the minors.

Also on Tuesday, outfielder Michael Choice and right-handers Jerad Eickhoff and Luke Jackson were optioned to Round Rock while pitchers Alec Asher and Martire Garcia and catcher Pat Cantwell were assigned to minor-league camp.

Rangers Notes: Andrus, Profar Hold Value as Trade Chips

In four full seasons with Texas, Elvis Andrus has career totals of 341 runs scored and 123 stolen bases.

The Rangers enjoy the benefit of having two quality shortstops below age 25 in their system — Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar — and that flexibility may allow the club to use one of them in a deal to obtain pitching, catching or outfield help.

Some of Texas’s offseason needs could change based on where free agents like Mike Adams, Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli sign this winter, but the Rangers are sure to be looking for a front-end starter as well as depth in the infield, outfield and behind the plate.

Andrus, 24, is in the middle of a three-year contract that will pay him an average annual salary of $14.4 million through 2014, and his name has come up in recent trade rumors linked to Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton.

At the Major League Baseball general managers’ meetings last week in California, USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reported that while Texas has “expressed strong interest” in Upton, the club may be unwilling to part with either Andrus or Profar.

To that end, the Rangers attempted to get yet another young shortstop over the weekend – Andrelton Simmons of Atlanta – in exchange for corner infield prospect Mike Olt, but the Braves turned down that proposed deal, perhaps wanting to acquire Upton themselves to satisfy their own outfield needs.

“[Upton] will not be an easy guy for us to move,” Arizona general manager Kevin Towers said in Nightengale’s piece. “But if somebody is willing to step up and we think it’s a deal that’s going to make the Diamondbacks better next year and going forward, we’ll talk about trading him.”

Should Arizona indeed choose to hang onto its 25-year-old outfielder, the Rangers may use Andrus or Profar as part of a trade elsewhere, or they could keep both and turn the pair into next season’s middle-infield combination.

That would displace Ian Kinsler at second base, of course, although the three-time All-Star has previously indicated a willingness to switch positions if needed, most likely to a corner outfield spot.

“I think it’s definitely possible,” Kinsler said after signing a $75 million contract extension back in April. “Whatever it takes to win games … I want to be of value to the club any way I can. If that comes about, it’s definitely something I’m willing to listen to.”

Hamilton Declines Offer; Wins Silver Slugger Award

As expected, outfielder Josh Hamilton turned down the Rangers’ qualifying offer of $13.3 million, officially making the first-time free-agent one of the marquee names on this winter’s open market.

Hamilton, an All-Star in each of his five seasons with Texas and winner of the 2010 American League MVP award, batted at a .285 clip last year while posting gaudy power numbers with 43 home runs and 128 RBIs.

For his performance, Hamilton took home his third career Silver Slugger on Nov. 8, joining Julio Franco, Juan Gonzalez, Alex Rodriguez and Ivan Rodriguez as the only players in franchise history to have won the award at least three times.

Cotts, Four Others Agree to Minor-League Deals

Veteran left-hander Neal Cotts was one of five players signed to minor-league contracts by the Rangers on Monday, with all five receiving invitations to big-league spring training next March.

Aside from Cotts, who had approved his deal in principle last month, Texas also agreed to terms with catcher Juan Apodaca, outfielders Jim Adduci and Aaron Cunningham and right-hander Yonata Ortega.

Texas Trades for Southpaw Hottovy

The Rangers acquired left-hander Tommy Hottovy from Kansas City last Thursday in exchange for cash considerations and a player to be named later.

Hottovy, 31, spent much of the 2012 season with Triple-A Omaha in the Pacific Coast League, making 41 relief appearances and finishing with an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.81 across 50 innings pitched.