Rangers sign RHP Daniel Bard to minor league contract with invitation to major league spring training

The Texas Rangers announced today the following transactions:

• Signed right-handed pitcher Daniel Bard to minor league contract with invitation to major league spring training.
• Signed right-handed pitcher Armando Galarraga to minor league contract (will be in minor league spring camp).
• Added infielder Rougned Odor (pronounced ROOG-ned oh-DORE) to major league spring training roster

Bard, 28, has played his entire major league career for the Red Sox, going 10-19 with a 3.67 ERA in 211 games/10 starts from 2009-13. He was designated for assignment by Boston on September 1, and claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on September 4. He became a free agent when he was not tendered a contract by Boston on December 2. Bard made just 2 appearances in the majors last season with 16 outings in the minors due to a lengthy stay on the disabled list. He had surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome on January 2, 2014 performed by Dr. Greg Pearl in Dallas and is expected to be limited at spring training.

Galarraga, 32, returns to the Texas organization, where he made his major league debut in 2007. He is 26-34 with a 4.78 ERA over 100 games/91 starts in his major league career with Texas (2007), Detroit (2008-10), Arizona (2011), and Houston (2012). Last season, he combined to go 6-8 with a 3.64 ERA (49 ER/121.0 IP) in 23 games/starts at Triple-A for Louisville (Reds) and Colorado Springs (Rockies). Galarraga was originally acquired by the Rangers in the Alfonso Soriano trade with Washington on December 8, 2005. He posted a career-high 13 wins for the Tigers in 2008 and came within one out of a perfect game for Detroit on June 2, 2010 vs. Cleveland.

Odor, who turns 20 today, will be in big league camp for the first time. He was selected as the Rangers 2013 Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year after combining to hit .305 (156-511) with 41 doubles, 6 triples, 11 home runs, and 78 RBI over 130 games with Myrtle Beach (High-A) and Frisco (AA) last season. He also posted a career-high 32 steals in 2013. His 41 doubles ranked tied for 3rd among all minor league players. Odor was recently selected as the top prospect in the Rangers organization by Baseball America.

With today's transactions, the Rangers now have 58 players in major league camp: a full 40-man roster and 18 non-roster invitees.

MINOR LEAGUE TRANSACTIONS: The Rangers have signed Taiwan native Che-Hsuan Lin (chay-shwaun) to a minor league contract. Previously an outfielder, the Rangers have signed the 25-year-old as a pitcher for the upcoming season and he will be working off the mound this spring. Lin appeared in 9 games with the Red Sox in 2012, going 3-for-12 in his only major league action. He was consistently ranked as the Boston organization's best defensive outfielder and best outfield arm by Baseball America, and won the club's yearly defensive award twice. He spent last season with Oklahoma City (AAA) in the Houston organization after being claimed off waivers on October 26, 2012, batting .234 in 121 games.

The Rangers have also released right-handed pitcher Tyler Tufts, who went 3-5 with a 3.34 ERA (37 ER/99.2 IP) in 27 games/19 starts for Frisco (AA) in 2013. Tufts spent 6 years in the Rangers system after being drafted in 2008 out of Indiana University, and he briefly appeared on the club's 40-man roster in late 2012.