The Rangers announced Thursday that they have claimed right-handed reliever Jhan Marinez off waivers from the Pirates and added him to their 40-man roster.
Designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on Saturday to accommodate its acquisition of Sean Rodriguez, Marinez is with his third big league club this year. He broke camp with the Brewers before being claimed by the Pirates on May 19. In 50 2/3 innings, Marinez has gone 0-3 with a 3.91 ERA, 40 strikeouts and 23 walks.
Marinez became an odd man out in Pittsburgh when the Pirates elected to pursue relief help externally by claiming George Kontos off waivers from the Giants.
Though Marinez's 1.579 WHIP and 4.1 walks per nine innings have been glaring concerns, his 54 percent ground-ball rate ranks eighth highest among MLB relievers (minimum 150 batted balls), according to Statcast™. He's also given up just a .102 batting average against his slider, a pitch he throws about a quarter of the time.
Marinez, 28, will be added to Texas' 25-man roster ahead of Friday's series opener against Houston, at which time the Rangers will make a corresponding move.