Rangers Designate Luis Curvelo For Assignment

The Rangers announced a few roster moves before tonight’s series opener against the A’s. Texas selected left-hander Marco Gonzales back onto the MLB roster and recalled infielder Cody Freeman from Triple-A Round Rock. They optioned Cam Cauley and Ben Peoples to open spots on the active roster. Texas designated righty reliever Luis Curvelo for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Gonzales.

It’s the second MLB stint for Gonzales. Texas signed him to a minor league deal in June, selected his contract a month later, and designated him for assignment around the trade deadline. Gonzales elected free agency but quickly re-signed a new minor league deal. He allowed four runs in five innings in a Triple-A start on August 9 and is back up as a fresh arm five days later.

Texas stretched their bullpen in last night’s 7-0 loss in Anaheim. Jacob deGrom left his start after two innings because of triceps fatigue. They used five relievers, Peoples included, to cover the final six frames. Jordan Montgomery went 52 pitches and will be down for a couple days. Peyton Gray and Cole Winn have each pitched back-to-back nights and probably aren’t available.

Gonzales can eat some innings tonight behind Kumar Rocker if the game gets out of hand in either direction. It might be another brief stay on the roster, though perhaps he’ll stick around if deGrom requires an injured list stint to force Montgomery into the rotation. Gonzales has worked six innings of one-run ball over two MLB appearances this year. He has an ERA close to 8.00 in Triple-A between the San Diego and Texas systems.

His call pushes the 25-year-old Curvelo off the roster. The Venezuelan-born righty has made 26 appearances over the past couple seasons. Curvelo hasn’t found much MLB success, allowing just over seven earned runs per nine with a 19% strikeout rate while walking more than 12% of opponents. He’s having a similarly tough year in Triple-A, pitching to an 8.42 ERA with a 14% walk rate across 25 2/3 frames. Texas will likely place him on waivers this weekend, and Curvelo would need to accept an outright assignment if he goes unclaimed.

The other move sees Freeman replace Cauley as a right-handed bat off the bench. Texas will see a couple left-handed starters this weekend. The A’s will pitch Gage Jump tonight and Jacob Lopez for Sunday’s finale. Cauley hasn’t hit much in his first big league stint. Freeman is in the lineup tonight at second base over Nicky Lopez. Cauley’s demotion means Evan Carter gets the start in center field against a lefty.