Rangers sign RHPs Guerrieri and Tonkin, C Sanchez to Minor League deals
On Tuesday, the Texas Rangers announced that the club has signed right-handed pitchers Taylor Guerrieri (pronounced guh-RARE-ee) and Michael Tonkin, along with catcher Tony Sanchez, to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training camp.
The 26-year-old Guerrieri made his major league debut with Toronto in September, posting no record and a 4.66 ERA (5 ER/9.2 IP) over 9 relief appearances. He became a free agent after the Blue Jays assigned him outright to Triple-A Buffalo on November 2. Originally selected by Tampa Bay in the first round (24th overall) of the 2011 June draft, the South Carolina native has a career 3.37 ERA and 1.131 WHIP figure over seven minor league seasons in the Rays (2012-17) and Blue Jays (2018) organizations.
Tonkin, 29, spent the 2018 season with Hokkaido in the Japanese Pacific League, going 4-4 with a 3.71 ERA (21 ER/51.0 IP) over 53 relief appearances for the Fighters. Tonkin appeared at the Major League level in every season from 2012-17, going 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA (72 ER/146.1 IP) over 141 relief appearances with the Minnesota Twins. He appeared in a career-best 65 games for the Twins in 2016 and finished the 2017 campaign as a member of the Minnesota bullpen.
The 30-year-old Sanchez was acquired by Texas in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds on April 16, 2018 and spent the entire season with Triple-A Round Rock. Sanchez batted .300 (66-220) with 7 home runs and 31 RBI in 62 games with the Express and also went 1-for-5 in 2 games with Triple-A Louisville in the Reds organization prior to the trade. He was the fourth overall pick of the 2009 June Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has batted .257 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI over 52 games at the major league level with Pittsburgh (2013-15) and Atlanta (2017).
With the additions of these three players, the Rangers now have 61 players on the club's spring training roster: 39 players on the major league roster, along with 22 non-roster invitees.
BASEBALL OPERATIONS CHANGES: Additionally today, the club announced the following promotions and hires in baseball operations:
Promoted:
• Todd Slavinsky - Sr. Director, Baseball Systems
• Ryan Murray - Director, Baseball Analytics
• Adam Lewkowicz - Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting
• Ben Baroody - Assistant Director, Baseball Operations
• Hamilton Wise - Assistant Director, International Scouting
• Brett Hayes - Coordinator, Run Prevention
• Jonny Clum - Assistant, International Scouting
• Bobby Bandelow - Junior Analyst
Hired:
• Alex Burg - Coordinator, Run Production
• Bradley Ankrom - Sr. Developer, Baseball Systems
• Vinesh Kanthan - Junior Analyst, Baseball Analytics
Slavinsky has spent nine seasons with the Rangers, the last five in a baseball operations capacity. Murray joined the Rangers during the 2014 season. Lewkowicz moves to an amateur scouting role after four seasons in advance scouting.
Baroody has taken on continued responsibility since joining the Rangers from the MLB Commissioner's Office in 2016. Wise will be in his third season as a full-time member of the baseball ops staff after serving as a department intern in 2016. Clum, who joins Wise on the international scouting staff, will be full-time after he interned for the Rangers for multiple seasons. Bandelow was the advanced scouting intern for the Rangers in 2018.
Burg, 31, played several different positions in his nine-year professional playing career that ended last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City in the Dodgers organization. The Seattle-area native played in the Rangers organization in 2015-16. Ankrom has worked previously with the Tampa Bay Rays, Bloomberg Sports, and Baseball Prospectus and consulted for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kanthan has spent the past two years with the Tampa Bay Rays, with a focus on building out their Sport Science infrastructure and technology.
TEXAS RANGERS HIRE MIKE HEALY AS VICE PRESIDENT, BALLPARK OPERATIONS AND GUEST SERVICES
The Texas Rangers today announced the appointment of Mike Healy to the new position of Vice President, Ballpark Operations and Guest Services. In that role, Healy will oversee facility operations, parking and security, and guest services at both Globe Life Park in Arlington and the new Globe Life Field beginning in 2020.
Healy joins the Rangers from the Detroit Tigers, where he spent the last 13 years as Vice President, Park Operations for Comerica Park. He has also worked as Vice President of Civic Relations and Event Logistics for Olympia Entertainment and held other positions within Ilitch Holdings in Detroit.
The graduate of Michigan State University began his duties with the Rangers earlier this month.