Rangers sign OF Ryan Ludwick to Minor League contract with invitation to Major League Spring Training
The 36-year-old veteran made his major league debut with Texas in 2002
Arlington, Texas - The Texas Rangers announced today that the club has signed outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training camp.
Ludwick, 36, will be in his second stint with the Texas organization, as he made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2002 and was with the club until he was traded to Cleveland in July 2003. He has spent the last 3 seasons with Cincinnati, batting .244 (87-357) with 20 doubles, 9 home runs, and 45 RBI over 112 games in 2014. The right-handed batter and left-handed thrower missed most of the 2013 campaign after suffering a right shoulder injury in the Reds' Opening Day game that year against the Angels.
Ludwick is a career .260 hitter with 154 home runs in 1065 major league games with Texas (2002-03), Cleveland (2003-05), St. Louis (2007-10), San Diego (2010-11), Pittsburgh (2011), and Cincinnati (2012-14). He was a 2008 National League All-Star with the Cardinals, winning a Louisville Silver Slugger Award that season while posting career highs in games (152), runs (104), doubles (40), home runs (37), and RBI (113). He last played in the American League during his final season with the Indians in 2005. Ludwick has over 400 big league starts in both left field (425) and right field (422), with limited action early in his career in center field.
With the addition of Ludwick, the Rangers' spring roster now stands at 60 players: a full 40-man roster plus 20 non-roster invitees to camp.