The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has received left-handed pitcher David Rollins from the Philadelphia Phillies through a waiver claim. To make room on the 40-man roster for Rollins, the team has also designated right-handed pitcher Tyrell Jenkins for assignment. Texas' roster remains at the 40-man limit.
This marks the fourth time in the past five weeks for Rollins to switch teams via a waiver claim. The dates of those transactions: November 18 (Seattle to Chicago-NL), November 22 (Chicago-NL to Texas), December 2 (Texas to Philadelphia) and December 21 (Philadelphia to Texas). He was most recently designated for assignment by Philadelphia on December 14.
Rollins, who turns 27 years old today, will be in his seventh professional season. He saw action with Seattle for a second straight year in 2016, allowing 8 runs over 11 relief appearances and 9.1 innings. Rollins spent the rest of the campaign with Triple-A Tacoma, going 5-0 with 2 saves, a 3.77 ERA (19 ER/45.1 IP), and 0.993 WHIP figure over 37 relief appearances. He owns a career 3.35 ERA over 132 games/64 starts in the minor leagues with a 1.164 WHIP while averaging 8.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. Rollins was born in DeBerry, Texas and resides in Frisco. He played college ball at San Jacinto Junior College in Pasadena.
The 24-year-old Jenkins was acquired from Atlanta with left-handed pitcher Brady Feigl for right-handed pitcher Luke Jackson on December 8. He made his major league debut for the Braves in 2016 and went 2-4 with a 5.88 ERA (34 ER/52.0 IP) in 14 games/8 starts. Jenkins spent the balance of the campaign with Triple-A Gwinnett, going 9-3 with a 2.47 ERA (23 ER/83.2 IP) over 17 games/12 starts. He was acquired by Atlanta, along with pitcher Shelby Miller, in exchange for outfielder Jason Heyward in November 2014. He was named Atlanta's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2015. Jenkins was born in Henderson, Texas and graduated from Henderson High School in 2010.