Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today formally announced agreements with seven players on minor league contracts with invitations to 2026 Major League Spring Training camp. Those seven players (in alphabetical order):
INF Jonah Bride
RHP Gavin Collyer
C Jose Herrera
C Cooper Johnson
INF Andrew Velazquez
LHP Anthony Veneziano
UTL Tyler Wade
Additionally, the club has announced the following dates for 2026 Rangers Spring Training camp:
First pitcher/catcher workout: Tuesday, February 10
First full squad workout: Sunday, February 15
Bride, who turns 30 on December 27, split the 2025 campaign between Miami and Minnesota, appearing in 45 games, including 27 starts at third base (18), designated hitter (5), and first base (4). In 2024 with the Marlins under then-manager Skip Schumaker, Bride posted career highs in games (71), at bats (232), hits (64), home runs (11), RBI (39), and walks (30), as his .818 OPS that season was the 2nd-highest on the club. The Milwaukee, Wis. native carries a .221 career batting average with 12 home runs and 57 RBI over 214 games across four seasons with Oakland (2022-23), Miami (2024-25), and Minnesota (2025). He was originally selected by the Athletics in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft from the University of South Carolina.
Collyer, 24, went 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA (30 ER/61.1 IP), setting career highs in saves (8) and appearances (51) in 2025 for Frisco (AA) and Round Rock (AAA). His 12.62 strikeouts per 9.0 figure (86 SO/61.1 IP) last season was the 2nd-highest among Rangers farmhands (12.72-Wilian Bormie) and the 22nd-best mark in all of the minor leagues (min. 60.0 IP). The right-hander has spent each of his six professional seasons in the Rangers organization, going 18-24 with 17 saves, a 4.36 ERA and 11.2 strikeouts per 9.0 over 174 career games, including 44 starts. The Lawrenceville, Ga. native was originally selected by Texas in the 12th round of the 2019 MLB Draft from Mountain View H.S.
A veteran of four Major League seasons with Arizona from 2022-25, Herrera has batted .200 (95-475) with 3 home runs, 17 doubles, and 42 RBI across 190 MLB games with the Diamondbacks. The switch-hitting backstop started 56 games at catcher for Arizona in 2025, hitting .187 (31-166) with 2 home runs and 17 RBI on the season. Herrera had been with the Diamondbacks organization for the entirety of his professional career after being signed by the club to a minor league contract in 2013 from Venezuela.
Johnson, 27, will be a non-roster invitee at Texas' Major League Spring Training camp for the second consecutive season in 2026, this after appearing in 10 Cactus League games for the Rangers last spring. The right-handed-hitting backstop batted .219 (73-333) with 9 home runs, 40 RBI, and a .680 OPS over a career-high 100 games between Double-A Frisco (18 G) and Triple-A Round Rock (82 G) in 2025, leading Rangers farmhands with 87 games at catcher. In his Triple-A debut with the Express last year, Johnson's 30.3 caught stealing percentage (23 CS/76 SBA) ranked 2nd among Pacific Coast League catchers with 50 games played. 2026 will mark the seventh professional season for the former 6th round selection by Detroit in the 2019 MLB Draft, as the University of Mississippi product has posted a .680 OPS with 32 home runs and 151 RBI in 380 career minor league games between the Tigers (2019, 2021-22) and Rangers (2023-25) chains.
The 31-year-old Velazquez, who saw Major League action in six straight campaigns from 2018-23, is slated for his 15th professional season and first with the Rangers in 2026. A switch-hitting infielder, Velazquez spent the entirety of the 2025 campaign with the Yankees' Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate, slashing .242/.304/.345/.649 across 106 games while drawing defensive starts at shortstop (65), second base (25), and third base (3). The Bronx, N.Y. native has logged stints in the Arizona (2012-14), Tampa Bay (2015-19), Cleveland (2019), Baltimore (2020), New York-AL (2021, 2025), Los Angeles-AL (2022-23), and Atlanta (2023-24) organizations since being selected by the Diamondbacks in the 7th round of the 2012 MLB Draft from Fordham Preparatory School. Velazquez carries a career .189 average with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 275 MLB games, last appearing in the Majors with the Angels in 2023.
Veneziano, 28, posted no record and a 4.68 ERA (13 ER/25.0 IP) in a career-high 26 games/one start with Miami and St. Louis in 2025. The southpaw has seen Major League action in each of the last three seasons and carries a career record of 1-0 with a 3.98 ERA (18 ER/40.2 IP), 40 strikeouts, and 16 walks in 40 games/one start with Kansas City (2023-24), Miami (2024-25), and St. Louis (2025). Veneziano made 10 relief appearances for the 2024 Marlins under the tutelage of manager Skip Schumaker, picking up his first Major League win and logging a 3.18 ERA (4 ER/11.1 IP) with 12 strikeouts in those outings. The Hackettstown, N.J. native was originally selected by the Royals in the 10th round of the 2019 MLB Draft from Coastal Carolina University.
Wade, a nine-year Major League veteran, spent the 2025 season with San Diego and hit .206 (22-107) with 9 RBI and 15 runs in 60 games. The 31-year-old utility player saw action at seven defensive positions last year, including centerfield (19 games), leftfield (17 games), second base (8 games), third base (4 games), rightfield (3 games), shortstop (2 games), and pitcher (1 game). A former 4th-round pick by the Yankees in the 2013 MLB Draft from Murrieta Valley (Calif.) High School, Wade has logged 506 MLB games since his debut in 2017 with four clubs: New York-AL (2017-21), Los Angeles-AL (2022), Oakland (2023), and San Diego (2024-25).
DORTON ADDED TO MAJOR LEAGUE COACHING STAFF: The Rangers also announced Eric Dorton as an assistant hitting coach on the Major League staff for 2026. Dorton will coach in a Major League dugout for the first time after spending seven seasons as a coach in the Rangers minor league system. He served as a full-season hitting coordinator from 2023-25 and was hitting coach for three Texas affiliates – ACL Rangers (2019), Down East (2021), and Frisco (2022). Prior to joining the Rangers organization in 2019, Dorton coached in the collegiate ranks for several programs from 2012-18, including his alma mater, West Texas A&M University. The former outfielder was the top-ranked high school recruit from the state of New Mexico by Perfect Game in 2008 and played collegiately at Lamar (Colo.) C.C. and West Texas A&M.
RANGERS 2026 MAJOR LEAGUE COACHING STAFF
Manager Skip Schumaker
Bench Coach Luis Urueta
Pitching Coach Jordan Tiegs
Hitting Coach Justin Viele
First Base Coach Travis Jankowski
Third Base Coach Corey Ragsdale
Quality Control Coach Rod Barajas
Catching Coach Brett Hayes
Assistant Pitching Coach Dave Bush
Bullpen Coach Colby Suggs
Assistant Hitting Coach Alex Cintrón
Assistant Hitting Coach Eric Dorton
– RANGERS –