K. Tanaka agrees to Minors deal with Rangers
Club also comes to terms on contratcts with pitchers Feierabend, McCutchen
The Rangers have agreed to terms with infielder Kensuke Tanaka and left-hander Ryan Feierabend on Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training.
Texas also announced on Friday that the club has agreed to terms on a Minor League contract with right-hander Daniel McCutchen, who will be in Minor League camp this spring.
Tanaka, 32, made his Major League debut last season with the Giants, hitting .267 with two RBIs and four runs scored in 30 at-bats over 15 games in July. The lefty hitter spent most of the year playing for Triple-A Fresno, where he hit .329 with one homer, 14 doubles, three triples, 32 RBIs, 54 runs and 22 stolen bases in 107 games.
Playing primarily second base and left field, Tanaka recorded 42 walks compared to only 36 strikeouts with Fresno. Tanaka spent 13 years with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Pacific League from 2000-12, and during that time he was Yu Darvish's teammate.
The 28-year-old Feierabend went a combined 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA over 29 games, including 21 starts for Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco in 2013. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he finished 6-5 with a 3.66 ERA in 120 1/3 innings and ranked tied for second on the staff with 79 strikeouts. Feierabend pitched in the Majors from 2006-08 with the Mariners, going a combined 2-11 with a 7.22 ERA in 25 games, including 19 starts.
The Rangers now have 13 non-roster invitees lined up for Major League Spring Training: pitchers Nate Adcock, Jose Contreras, Feierabend, Justin Germano, Colby Lewis, Aaron Poreda and Armando Rodriguez, infielders Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brent Lillibridge, Tanaka and Josh Wilson, and outfielders Bryan Petersen and Brad Snyder.
McCutchen, who spent last season in the Orioles organization, went a combined 4-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 25 games, including seven starts, with Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie. McCutchen pitched for the Pirates from 2009-12 and owns a career 8-11 record and 4.77 ERA over 108 appearances in the Majors.