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Rangers Set 40-Man Roster With Eye on Free Agency

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Rangers
By Chris Halicke | Last updated 11/19/21

All 30 clubs in Major League Baseball had until 5:00 p.m. CST to add prospects to their 40-man roster to protect them from December's Rule 5 draft. Before the deadline, the Texas Rangers selected the contracts of RHP Ricky Vanasco, RHP Ronny Henriquez and INF Ezequiel Duran. In addition, the Rangers assigned RHP Kyle Cody and RHP Edwar Colina outright to Triple-A Round Rock.

After these moves, the Rangers have 37 players on their 40-man roster.

With those three roster spots left open, the Rangers are continuing to push forward with their aggressive plans to add to the club via free agency and/or trade. The expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 1, and the lack of optimism that a lockout will be avoided, has caused the market to move at a brisker pace than initially anticipated.

In turn, the Rangers are reading the room and positioning themselves for an opportunity to add to the roster.

"We did want to do that, especially with the pace of the market," Daniels said. "It seems that things have been moving along pretty good, especially relative to recent years. We wanted to be prepared to have some spots. Obviously, we have some needs that we expect to fill from the outside."

The trio of Rangers that were added to the 40-man roster were all expected to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. While Vanasco, Henriquez and Duran won't likely see the big leagues in 2022, their developmental plan will take a significant step forward next year where it may not be too much longer—maybe as early as 2023—until they get their call to Arlington.

However, there are several names that were left off the roster that were considered for spots, including Cole Ragans, Jake Latz, Steele Walker and Bubba Thompson.

"[Walker and Thompson] were both names that we discussed," said Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels. "Both guys are relatively high draft picks with some pedigree and had different type of success at upper levels. We just try to look at if the player is going to fill a role here in the short term, the upside and the medium-term at what they would develop—a lot of times, Rule 5 guys don't get full developmental opportunities—and what that looks like down the line. ... We're hopeful to retain those guys, but obviously we took a bit of a calculated risk there."

Cody is a pitcher the Rangers really value, but felt they could leave him off the 40-man roster due to the shoulder surgery he had in September. The 27-year-old right-hander is not expected to return to the mound in games until after the All-Star break next year, which may scare away teams from selecting him in the Rule 5 draft.

Colina was claimed off waivers by the Rangers on Oct. 6, and he is also coming off a major surgery. The 24-year-old right-hander missed all of the 2021 season after undergoing an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right elbow on May 26.

The Rule 5 draft is currently scheduled for Dec. 9, which is the final day of the Winter Meetings in Orlando. However, if there is not a new CBA in place by Dec. 2 and the owners lock out the players, both events—along with all other Major League business—will be shut down.