Rangers Notes: Top Prospect Alfaro Added to Active Roster

Twenty-one-year-old Jorge Alfaro split last season between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco.

The Rangers added four minor-league players to their 40-man roster on Thursday in order to protect them ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place Dec. 11 at the MLB winter meetings in San Diego.

Catcher Jorge Alfaro, infielder Hanser Alberto and pitchers Jerad Eickhoff and Luke Jackson were all added to the active roster for Texas, and each could get an extended look when the team assembles for Cactus League action in Arizona next spring.

In a series of related roster moves, outfielder Dan Robertson was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci was designated for assignment, and pitchers Miles Mikolas and Aaron Poreda were placed on unconditional release waivers.

Alfaro, 21, is the most highly-touted among the quartet joining the active roster, ranking just behind infielder Rougned Odor in Baseball America’s list of the Rangers’ Top 10 prospects heading into last season.

In 121 games between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco, Alfaro batted .261 with 17 home runs and 87 runs batted in, and he threw out 25 of 88 attempted base-stealers from behind the plate.

The Colombian backstop is likely to begin next season with Frisco or Triple-A Round Rock, which means Texas will seek another catcher via trade or free agency this winter to share time with starter Robinson Chirinos.

Twenty-two-year-old Hanser Alberto also split the 2014 campaign between Myrtle Beach and Frisco, hitting .273 with 21 doubles and 16 stolen bases while seeing most of his playing time at shortstop.

Jerad Eickhoff, 24, led all Double-A hurlers with 144 strikeouts last season to go with a 10-9 record and an earned run average of 4.08, and he finished among the Texas League leaders with a 1.17 WHIP and 154-plus innings pitched.

Luke Jackson, 23, posted a combined record of 9-5 across 26 appearances (24 starts) between Frisco and Round Rock last year, and he tossed a scoreless inning as a starting pitcher in the Texas League All-Star Game in June.

Trio Signed to Minor-League Deals

Texas signed three players last week to minor-league contracts, two of which include invites to big-league spring training in Arizona: catcher Chris Gimenez, right-hander David Martinez and left-hander Efrain Nieves (no invite).

The 31-year-old Gimenez spent most of last season in the Rangers’ organization before he was traded to Cleveland for cash considerations in August. He saw action at catcher and first base and even pitched a scoreless inning as part of a blowout loss to the Angels.

Martinez, 27, made seven appearances out of the Houston bullpen across the past two seasons, spending most of that time as a reliever and occasional starter for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Nieves, meanwhile, has spent his entire career in the Milwaukee and Toronto organizations, going 3-5 with a 2.29 earned run average last year in 44 games for High-A Dunedin.

Guzman Involved in Fatal Crash

First base prospect Ronald Guzman was involved in a fatal automobile accident this week in the Dominican Republic, and he will be ordered to stay in the country until the investigation is complete.

The 20-year-old Guzman was behind the wheel of his sport utility vehicle early Tuesday morning when he collided with a motorcyclist, who was killed in the crash. Guzman was not injured.

Guzman has seen his production decline over the past two seasons after a strong rookie campaign in the Arizona League in 2012, batting just .218 for High-A Hickory last year with 107 strikeouts against 37 walks.

Rangers Notes: Banister Named New Texas Skipper

Jeff Banister has spent the past 29 years with the Pirates as a player, minor-league manager and big-league coach.

The Rangers introduced Jeff Banister as the 18th full-time manager in club history on Friday, bringing a fresh face to the organization in the wake of Ron Washington’s resignation early last month.

Banister takes over for interim skipper Tim Bogar, who led Texas to a 14-8 record to finish the season and was thought to be the favorite for the managerial vacancy. Bogar and Banister were two of the final three candidates along with Cleveland bullpen coach Kevin Cash.

“Tim did not do anything to lose this job,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. “Jeff won this. We had great candidates and had seven difficult conversations with guys who didn’t get the job and one great one [with Banister].”

The 50-year-old Banister was born in Oklahoma but raised in the South Texas town of La Marque. He developed bone cancer in his leg while a student at La Marque High School, then survived a home-plate collision (along with three crushed vertebrae) as a catcher at Baytown Junior College.

After being drafted by Pittsburgh in 1986, Banister made it to the majors for one career at-bat in 1991, appearing as a pinch-hitter for Doug Drabek against Atlanta’s Dan Petry and beating out an infield single in his lone big-league game.

Following his playing career, he held various posts within the Pirates’ organization including minor-league manager and major-league bench coach, a title he held for the last four seasons under former Texas coach Clint Hurdle.

In total, Banister spent 29 years with Pittsburgh, but he is now ready to move into a new role with a new ballclub.

“I’ve never chased a job in my life,” Banister said Friday at an introductory press conference. “I think the best opportunities to come along are the ones you’re not looking for. Have I prepared myself for this opportunity? Yeah, from the day that I stopped playing, until now.”

He inherits a team that fell well short of expectations in 2014 and finished last in the A.L. West for the first time since ’07, although Banister sees it as a chance to build upon a foundation that already has several pieces in place to contend.

“These men know how to win, they know what it takes to win,” he said. “I am assuming [this past season] was an unfortunate situation, there were some guys that were hurt. Some things were out of their control.

“But the beauty of what happened last year [is that] in my eyes there was also a group of young men that had an opportunity to gain some valuable experience going forward.”

Coaching Staff Won’t Include Pettis

On the same day Jeff Banister was announced as the Rangers’ new manager, it was revealed that his coaching staff will not include Texas mainstay Gary Pettis, who is leaving the club to become third-base coach for the Houston Astros.

Pettis, 56, had been a member of Ron Washington’s staff since 2007, serving as the first-base coach for six seasons before moving to third base two years ago.

A former Gold Glove-winning outfielder, Pettis spent the 1990 and ’91 campaigns in a Rangers uniform, seeing action in 273 games and racking up 67 stolen bases over two seasons.

(UPDATE: It was announced Monday evening that Tim Bogar will not return to the Texas coaching staff, either. Bogar began the year as bench coach before taking over as interim manager in September.)

Rangers Decline Option on Rios

Outfielder Alex Rios is set to become a free agent after Texas declined to pick up his $14 million option for next season, instead choosing to pay Rios $1 million as part of a buyout.

Rios, 33, was – like most of the Rangers’ roster – hampered by injuries last year, dealing with both thumb and ankle ailments while hitting only four home runs across 131 games, his lowest power output since he was a rookie in 2004.

With Rios likely to depart, Texas could move Shin-Soo Choo to right field and choose his replacement in left from a group of internal candidates that includes Jim Adduci, Michael Choice, Dan Robertson, Ryan Rua and Jake Smolinski.

Rangers Notes: Soria Sent to Tigers for Young Arms

Former All-Star reliever Joakim Soria had converted 17 of his 19 potential save opportunities for the Rangers this season.

The Rangers traded closer Joakim Soria to Detroit on Wednesday in exchange for right-handed pitchers Corey Knebel and Jake Thompson, both of whom are highly-regarded prospects from the North Texas area.

Soria took over as the Rangers’ closer after the offseason departure of Joe Nathan, who signed a two-year deal with the Tigers in December but has struggled thus far with effectiveness and consistency.

In 40 appearances out of the Detroit bullpen this season, Nathan has already blown five save chances while posting an ERA (5.73) far higher than his 2.88 career average. Although he will retain the closer’s role for now, the addition of Soria could put Nathan’s status in jeopardy.

With Soria out of the picture in Texas, the early choice to replace him appears to be right-hander Neftali Feliz, who was the Rangers’ closer during their pennant-winning seasons of 2010 and 2011.

Feliz had been the favorite to take over for Nathan this spring, but the job instead went to Soria when Feliz was hampered by command issues and Tanner Scheppers moved into the starting rotation.

As for the players Texas acquired in return for Soria, Knebel is a 22-year-old University of Texas product who will report to Triple-A Round Rock while Thompson is a native of Rockwall who will join the rotation at Double-A Frisco.

“Corey Knebel is a big physical right-handed guy with back-of-the-bullpen speed and demeanor,” Texas general manager Jon Daniels said. “A power fastball-curveball combo, a lot of success at [Texas.]”

Daniels described the 20-year-old Thompson as a “physical kind of guy, built for innings, a four-pitch mix … Good life on the fastball and a good slider. A good makeup.”

Taking Soria’s spot on the active roster was right-hander Nate Adcock, who had his contract purchased from Round Rock before Thursday’s game in New York.

Yankees, A’s Take Series from Texas

The Rangers continued their summer-long free fall in the American League West standings by losing five out of seven games over the last week, winning the openers against New York and Oakland before losing both series.

Joakim Soria earned what would be his final save in a Texas uniform last Monday, closing the door on a 4-2 victory in which Miles Mikolas pitched into the eighth inning and benefitted from a three-run rally in the sixth.

Neither team scored through the first 12 frames of Tuesday’s game, and while the Rangers briefly went ahead on a solo homer from J.P. Arencibia in the thirteenth, the Yankees tied it in their half of the inning before capturing a 2-1 walk-off win in the fourteenth.

New York won by the same score in a rain-shortened affair on Wednesday, then secured the series victory by beating Texas, 4-2, in Thursday afternoon’s finale.

The Rangers welcomed the division-leading A’s to Arlington with a 4-1 win Friday at Globe Life Park, buoyed by a strong performance from spot-starter Jerome Williams as well as the first big-league save by Neftali Feliz in nearly three years.

Oakland pounded four homers on the way to a 5-1 win over Texas on Saturday, and Mikolas was roughed up Sunday as the Athletics took the finale by a 9-2 score, improving upon what was already the best record (65-39) in baseball.

Nadel Receives Ford C. Frick Award

Radio voice Eric Nadel was honored in Cooperstown on Saturday as the 2014 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, given annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to recognize excellence in broadcasting.

Nadel, who has been the team’s primary radio announcer for the past 35 seasons, becomes the first member of the Rangers organization to receive the award, and he expressed gratitude to both the ballclub and its fan base in his acceptance speech.

“As a team, we still haven’t won the big one, but we won this award together,” Nadel said. “And the pain and frustration we have experienced has brought us closer together … I can honestly say that I am proud to be a Texas Ranger, and I know you are proud to be Texas Rangers fans.”

Also honored on Saturday were writer Roger Angell and broadcaster Joe Garagiola, and Sunday’s induction ceremony included Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Tony La Russa, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas and Joe Torre.

Soto Back to DL; Adduci, Martinez Return

Continuing to make injury-related roster moves at an historic rate, the Rangers were forced to place both catcher Geovany Soto and outfielder Jake Smolinski on the 15-day disabled list over the last week.

Soto, who had just returned from the 60-day DL on July 22 following knee surgery this spring, was sent back to the disabled list Tuesday with a right groin strain, and right-hander Nick Martinez was activated in order to make the start that evening in New York.

The day before, outfielder/first baseman Jim Adduci had been activated from the DL while right-handed reliever Matt West was optioned to Triple-A, and veteran starter Jerome Williams had his contract purchased from Round Rock on Friday as Jake Smolinski was put on the disabled list with a bone bruise.

Right-hander Justin Marks was released in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Williams, and southpaw reliever Joe Ortiz was activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Double-A Frisco.

Rangers Notes: Texas Moves into First after Sweep of A’s

Martin Perez extended his scoreless-innings streak to 26 with another shutout on Wednesday.

Despite a seemingly endless string of injuries to starters and backups alike, the Rangers have maintained an even keel throughout the young season and now find themselves in first place following a sweep of Oakland this week in Northern California.

With a record of 14-8, in fact, Texas currently has the best overall mark and highest winning percentage (.636) in the American League, an accomplishment that seems more impressive considering the Rangers are also the MLB leaders with 12 trips to the disabled list.

Texas nonetheless finished off a winning homestand last weekend by taking two of three from the visiting White Sox, starting with a 12-0 complete-game shutout by Martin Perez on Friday. The Rangers gave him plenty of support with 10 runs against Chicago’s Felipe Paulino, and Perez struck out eight batters while going the distance for his third victory of the year.

Every member of the Texas lineup finished with at least one hit against the White Sox on Saturday, part of a 6-3 win that was punctuated by home runs from Prince Fielder and Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Colby Lewis was better in his second start than he had been in his first, scattering a run on six hits across five-plus innings of work Saturday as he earned a big-league victory for the first time since June 17, 2012.

Reliever-turned-starter Robbie Ross did not fare nearly as well in Sunday afternoon’s finale, allowing seven runs (four earned) before giving way to the bullpen in the sixth inning. What had been a 9-2 Chicago advantage turned into a 16-2 blowout when Hector Noesi was pounded for seven runs in the ninth.

Moving on to the Bay Area for Monday’s game, the Rangers provided Yu Darvish with some rare early run support as Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff homer against A’s starter Dan Straily. Oakland would score three times off Darvish in the second inning, but Texas battled back to tie the game with single runs in the fourth and fifth.

Kouzmanoff then doubled to lead off the top of the eighth against reliever Fernando Abad, and Donnie Murphy drove an RBI single up the middle to plate the go-ahead run and help the Rangers secure a 4-3 come-from-behind win.

Rookie right-hander Nick Martinez gave up four runs in his five innings of work Tuesday, departing on the short end of a 4-3 score and appearing destined for his first major-league loss.

But the Rangers again staged a late rally, this time tying the game on Josh Wilson’s two-out RBI double, then taking the lead for good on Michael Choice’s run-scoring grounder into center field.

Martin Perez turned in another masterful performance Wednesday afternoon at O.co Coliseum, recording only three strikeouts but inducing 15 ground ball outs en route to his second complete-game shutout in a row.

Texas backed Perez with single runs in three different innings against A’s starter Sonny Gray and the Rangers hung on for the 3-0 win, becoming the first team to sweep Oakland at the Coliseum since the 2012 season.

Next up for Texas is a three-game weekend series in Seattle before the team returns home next week for an abbreviated three-game homestand against the Athletics.

Kouzmanoff Named Player of the Week

Filling in for the injured Adrian Beltre at third base, veteran infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff was recognized as the American League Player of the Week on Monday.

In his seven games from Apr. 14-20, Kouzmanoff batted .345 (10-for-29) with a league-high four doubles, six runs scored and eight RBIs. He hit safely in each of his first 10 games as a Ranger before going hitless in Sunday’s loss to Chicago.

“It feels good to come back and have an impact on a team,” the 32-year-old Kouzmanoff said. “I think we are playing together as a team and we’ve played well. It’s just been a good week.”

Prior to Beltre’s injury, Kouzmanoff had not seen any big-league action since he was a member of the Colorado Rockies in September 2011.

DL Grows with Adduci, Figueroa, Scheppers

The ballclub added to its ever-growing disabled list three times in the past week, as outfielder Jim Adduci, left-hander Pedro Figueroa and right-hander Tanner Scheppers were all added to the 15-day DL.

Scheppers was the first to go, getting sent to the disabled list with elbow inflammation last Friday, and left-hander Aaron Poreda was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to take his spot on the active roster. Infielder Andy Parrino was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Poreda.

Adduci suffered a fractured left pinky finger on a slide into second base Friday against Chicago, and he was placed on the DL Saturday while the Rangers called up infield prospect Luis Sardinas from Double-A Frisco.

As for Pedro Figueroa, the lefty reliever threw just one pitch in Tuesday’s win over Oakland, hitting A’s outfielder Josh Reddick before he was removed with left elbow inflammation. Texas filled his roster spot by acquiring outfielder Dan Robertson from the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

Rangers Notes: Walk-Offs Pave Way for First Series Win

Shin-Soo Choo (center) is mobbed by teammates Wednesday after he drew a game-winning walk against Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Although they trailed in all three games of their season-opening series, the Rangers bounced back to win the final two contests against the Phillies with a pair of walk-off victories this week at Globe Life Park.

Left-hander Martin Perez put forth a solid effort in his Tuesday start opposite A.J. Burnett, tossing five shutout innings before allowing two runs in the top of the sixth. Cesar Hernandez led off with a double and later scored on a single by Jimmy Rollins, who was driven in himself on a Ryan Howard RBI double.

Texas pulled to within a run in the bottom of the frame when Alex Rios’ leadoff double was followed by an RBI single from Mitch Moreland, and Texas then tied the game in the seventh when Shin-Soo Choo singled, advanced on a sacrifice and a groundout, and scored a double from Adrian Beltre.

Veteran relievers Jason Frasor and Neal Cotts combined for two and one-third shutout innings to keep the score tied at 2-2, with Cotts getting Ryan Howard to strike out swinging to end the eighth.

After Joakim Soria had tossed a perfect top of the ninth for the Rangers, Philadelphia called on rookie Mario Hollands to make his major-league debut. Hollands issued a four-pitch walk to Choo leading off the inning, then walked Prince Fielder after Elvis Andrus laid down a sac bunt.

Righty B.J. Rosenburg took over for Hollands on the mound, but the third pitch he threw was hit by Adrian Beltre into right field to bring Choo home and give Texas a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.

Like Tanner Scheppers on Monday, southpaw Robbie Ross made the first start of his major-league career Wednesday, although he brought with him much more experience as a starter in the minors than Scheppers.

Ross ran into trouble almost immediately, however, as Carlos Ruiz doubled with one out in the first and was driven in by Chase Utley for the first run of the ballgame.

Ryan Howard then clubbed a two-run homer off Ross in the third to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead, and the shutout held until Mitch Moreland tripled and Leonys Martin delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

With Texas still trailing 3-1 in the ninth, Adrian Beltre singled to lead off against closer Jonathan Papelbon and went to third when Moreland hit an opposite-field double into left. Pinch-hitter Jim Adduci beat out an infield single to score Beltre, and Moreland came home on Martin’s ground-ball single into right to tie the game.

Papelbon then seemed to lose control of his fastball, issuing a four-pitch walk to Donnie Murphy that loaded the bases before walking Choo with a full count to drive in Adduci as the winning run.

Next up for the Rangers is a tough American League East road trip through Tampa Bay and Boston, with three games apiece against the Rays and defending World Series champion Red Sox.

Darvish to Start Sunday

Having been scratched from his Opening Day assignment, right-hander Yu Darvish is now expected to make his first start of the season this Sunday at Tropicana Field.

The 27-year-old Darvish, who led the American League in strikeouts last season and finished second in the A.L. Cy Young award voting, was shut down halfway through spring training due to stiffness in his neck.

Although there was no structural damage in the neck, Darvish opened this season on the 15-day disabled list and missed a chance to face off against former Texas left-hander Cliff Lee last Monday.

He is slated to oppose Rays right-hander Alex Cobb – who lost to Toronto in Tampa Bay’s second game of the season – on Sunday afternoon in Florida.

Lewis Scheduled for Rehab Outing

While Yu Darvish is pitching against the Rays, veteran righty Colby Lewis will be making an important start of his own for Triple-A Round Rock in his effort to come back from elbow surgery and a hip replacement procedure.

Lewis has not seen big-league action in nearly two years, but he was one of the Rangers’ most reliable pitchers before his recent injury woes. Across 80 starts from 2010-12, Lewis produced a 3.93 ERA and surpassed 200 innings pitched in each of his two full seasons over that span.

His potential return would bring a stabilizing influence to the Texas rotation, which currently features just one of the five starters (Martin Perez) who had been penciled in last offseason.