The Texas Rangers need bullpen help and the Winter Meetings offer general manager Chris Young and his team the chance to do some legwork to improve.
But there are bargains to be had, and one resurrected his career with Tampa Bay last season.
Robert Stephenson joined Tampa Bay last June when he was traded by Pittsburgh for a minor-league infielder. At the time, Stephenson was 0-3 with a 5.14 ERA. That’s a bargain for all the wrong reasons.
But, in Tampa Bay, something changed. The right-handed ended his time with the Rays with a 3-1 record and a 2.35 ERA in 42 appearances. He struck out 60 in 38 1/3 inning and his 38.3 percent strikeout rate for the season was the third-best among pitchers that threw at least 50 innings (14.1).
The Rangers should know. They got a taste of it on July 18 when he faced the Rangers and struck out two of them in a scoreless sixth inning.
So what happened? Sports Illustrated wrote a piece on 10 under-the-radar free agents and while with the Rays, Kyle Snyder and the rest of the team’s pitching coaches reworked Stephenson’s approach.
The Rays got Stephenson to elevate his fastball and helped him turn his breaking pitch into a cutter.
Two simple adjustments and Stephenson should have suitors this offseason, in spite of his 17-20 career record and 4.64 ERA for Cincinnati, Colorado, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.
His high strikeout rate would make him an option for a Rangers bullpen that had its struggles in that area last season.
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