The Rangers have signed right-hander Codi Heuer to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports. Heuer was a free agent after being non-tendered by the Cubs in November.
It has been more than two years since Heuer last stepped on a big league mound, and he has only 12 2/3 minor league innings on his resume since the start of the 2022 season. A Tommy John procedure kept Heuer on the shelf for much of that time, but while pitching in a minor league rehab outing last June, he suffered an elbow fracture that required another surgery.
Heuer was a sixth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2018 draft, and he made his major league debut in the form of 23 2/3 innings in the 2020 season. Heuer had an impressive 1.52 ERA in that first taste of the Show, even if a .193 BABIP helped his outperform such peripherals as a 3.69 SIERA. The righty came closer to that mark with a 4.28 ERA in 67 1/3 combined innings with the White Sox and Cubs in 2021, as Heuer and Nick Madrigal went from the South Side to Wrigleyville in the all-Chicago deadline trade that sent Craig Kimbrel to the Sox.
Between the extended layoff and the variables that went into the 2020 season, it is hard to project if Heuer will ever be able to match his impressive numbers (including a 27.2% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate) from that shortened season, as his K% sharply dropped to 19.9% in 2021. Heuer’s fastball also dropped from 97.6 mph in 2020 to 95.9 mph in 2021, and it is fair to wonder how two surgeries have since impacted his velocity. Still, Heuer doesn’t turn 28 until July, and he would hardly be the first somewhat unheralded pitcher to enjoy a second wind in his career after getting healthy. There’s no risk and plenty of upside for Texas in this minor league deal, particularly since improving the bullpen has been a known focus for the Rangers for the better part of two seasons.
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