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: Cruz Still Looking for Right Landing Spot

Free-agent outfielder Nelson Cruz (left) has not yet found a team willing to meet his original contract target of $75 million over four years.

Along with Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, Nelson Cruz was thought to be one of the top outfielders available on this winter’s free-agent market.

While the first three have all found homes with new clubs, however, Cruz remains unsigned as the new calendar year begins.

A number of factors are at play for Cruz, beginning with his relatively steep asking price of around $75 million. Some teams are also wary of a production drop-off following last season’s suspension for his ties to Biogenesis, and the fact that Texas made him a qualifying offer means that whatever club signs Cruz will be forced to give up draft pick compensation.

At the time of his 50-game suspension last year, Cruz was the Rangers’ leading power producer with 27 home runs and 76 runs batted in, and he finished second behind Adrian Beltre with a .506 slugging percentage.

His abbreviated 2013 season came at the end of a very productive five-year span in which Cruz established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game, having racked up 135 homers, 143 doubles and 407 RBIs since 2009.

Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com notes that while Cruz was linked to a number of teams earlier this offseason (including Colorado, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Seattle), those organizations have already filled their power-hitting needs with other players.

“There’s no single issue that would scare a team away from Cruz, given the person he is,” Ringolsby writes. “The chain of events, however, has left Cruz – as respected as he is within the game – still waiting to find a team to play for in 2014.”

One recent example that could make ballclubs leery about signing Cruz is that of Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera, who saw a significant drop in production last year after receiving a 50-game suspension in 2012 for testosterone use.

The Rangers have indicated that their offseason shopping is largely complete, but as Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe notes, “It seems Cruz needs to reestablish his value” and therefore may be willing to accept a one-year “pillow” contract.

Bringing Cruz back to Texas is a nice thought, but it would require some reshuffling of a lineup that already has three everyday outfielders (Choo, Leonys Martin and Alex Rios) and a designated hitter (Mitch Moreland).

St. Louis Claims Ortega from Texas

Minor-league outfielder Rafael Ortega continued a busy offseason this week when he was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals on a waiver claim from the Rangers.

Ortega, 22, had spent his entire six-year career within the Rockies organization before getting picked up by Texas in late November.

The Rangers added Ortega to their 40-man roster, but he was ultimately designated for assignment as part of the domino effect from the Shin-Soo Choo signing, allowing St. Louis to grab him on Monday.

Special Assistant Maddux Elected to Hall

It was announced Wednesday that three new players will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, including former Braves hurler Greg Maddux, who is starting his third season with Texas as special assistant to general manager Jon Daniels.

Maddux, the younger brother of pitching coach Mike Maddux, won 355 games and four National League Cy Young awards over his 23-season career, and he will be enshrined in Cooperstown next to longtime teammate Tom Glavine and former MVP Frank Thomas.

“His accomplishments are well-documented, and it’s an honor for us to work with one of the true greats,” Daniels said of Maddux. “He has made an impression on all of us with his passion for and knowledge of the game, his willingness to share it with all, and his ability to keep things loose and have fun.”

Among the many players who fell short of the requisite 75 percent of the vote total needed for election were former Rangers Sammy Sosa (7.2 percent), Rafael Palmeiro (4.4), Eric Gagne (0.4) and Kenny Rogers (0.2).

Currently Reading: Living on the Black

Living on the Black by John Feinstein — With Andy Pettitte announcing his retirement and Roger Clemens facing federal perjury charges, it’s nice to read about a pair of modern-era pitchers whose legacies have not been implicated by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use (at least not yet). In Living on the Black, bestselling author John Feinstein follows Mets left-hander Tom Glavine and Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina through the 2007 season, detailing their respective ups and downs while offering what the Christian Science Monitor calls “a scrupulous look at what life is like for the 21st-century major leaguer.”