Rangers lose World Series-winning pitcher to injury

The Rangers placed right-hander Jacob Webb on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 29) due to back spasms, per a team announcement.  Righty Luis Curvelo was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, as initially reported by Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.  Curvelo was already on the 40-man roster, so no additional roster move was necessary.

Signed to a one-year, $1.25M free-agent deal last winter, Webb has provided steady work out of Texas bullpen this year, with a 3.75 ERA over 48 innings.  His 19.5% strikeout rate is the lowest of his six MLB seasons, and a .232 BABIP has helped Webb outperform his 4.15 SIERA.  Still, there isn’t a big gap between Webb’s real-world numbers and his expected numbers, as he has done an outstanding job of inducing soft contact.  The righty’s seven percent walk rate is also a personal best.

Losing Webb for at least the next two weeks won’t help a Rangers team that is fighting for a playoff berth, especially since Chris Martin was also put on the IL due to a calf strain last week.  The Texas relief corps has been very impressive overall this year, but the Rangers are known to be looking for high-leverage relievers to try to bring a steady closer into the mix before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Curvelo’s first in-game appearance will mark the 24-year-old’s big league debut.  Despite his young age, Curvelo is in his seventh season of pro ball, as he started as a 17-year-old in the Mariners’ system in 2017.  He joined the Rangers this past winter on a major league contract, speaking to the amount of interest Curvelo generated despite his lack of MLB experience.

Curvelo made his Triple-A debut this season and has a 3.26 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate over 38 2/3 innings with Round Rock.  These aren’t the kind of special numbers that it would take to get a relief-only pitcher onto a team’s top prospects list, yet Curvelo has looked good enough against Triple-A batters that he’ll now get his first chance to show his wares at the MLB level.  It remains to be seen if Curvelo will just get a cup of coffee in the majors or if he’ll get a longer look if he pitches well, considering that the Rangers’ bullpen situation could be quite different after Thursday's trade deadline.