Rangers add power bat Peguero on Minors deal

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers added an intriguing power bat to their Spring Training roster when they signed outfielder Carlos Peguero to a Minor League contract with an invitation to big league camp.

Peguero, 27, is a left-handed hitter who has had some impressive offensive seasons in the Minor Leagues but has not been able to carry that over into the Major Leagues. He was once considered a top offensive prospect in the Mariners' system.

Peguero spent this winter playing for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Republic. He led the league with eight home runs in 31 games, while hitting .271 with a .542 slugging percentage.

"He has enormous raw power from the left side of the plate," Rangers pro scouting director Josh Boyd said. "Our scouts were impressed with the shape he was in and some of the progress he made with his approach in winter ball."

Peguero has played in 841 Minor Leagues games over the past nine seasons, with a batting average of .273 along with a .335 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage. He averaged 29.8 home runs and 106 RBIs for every 150 games. He also has averaged 197 strikeouts as opposed to just 48 walks per 150 games.

That strikeout rate has been his biggest hurdle. He has played in 69 games at the Major League level, with a career .196 batting average and nine home runs, 28 RBIs and 89 strikeouts in just 214 at-bats.

• Rick Helling, the last Rangers pitcher to win 20 games, has been selected as the 2014 winner of the Mark Holtz Alumni Award and will be honored at the Dr Pepper Awards Banquet in Dallas on Jan. 23. Helling currently works for the Major League Baseball Players Association.

• Royals pitcher Brandon Finnegan will be honored as the recipient of the 2014 Texas Professional Player of the Year Award. He was selected by the Royals out of TCU in the first round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and ended up pitching for them as a reliever in postseason play.

• Infielder Guilder Rodriguez, who played in seven games for the Rangers this past season after 13 years in the Minor Leagues, has re-signed with the organization. He has agreed to a Minor League contract without an invitation to Spring Training. The Rangers also agreed to Minor League deals with infielder Edwin Garcia, pitcher Chad James, pitcher Kyle Lotzkar, pitcher Francisco Mendoza, infielder J.T. Wise and catcher Kevin Torres.

• Josue Perez has been promoted to Minor League hitting coordinator. Perez, who replaces Scott Coolbaugh, has been a hitting coach in the Rangers' organization for the past seven seasons. He will be assisted by former Major League outfielder Dwayne Murphy, who has previously been a hitting coach for the Blue Jays and D-backs.

• Pro scout Chris Briones has been named the Minor League catching coordinator. He was a catcher for nine years in the Minor Leagues before becoming a scout. 

• Juan Lopez has been named assistant catching coordinator. He had a similar job for the Reds last season after six years as their bullpen coach.

• Bruce Hines, who was the Dodgers' field coordinator last season, has been hired as the baserunning coordinator.