Texas Rangers Sign Former Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher to Minor League Deal

The Texas Rangers are taking a flier on right-handed pitcher Austin Pruitt as they look to build organizational pitching depth.

Seeking some pitching depth in the organization, the World Champion Texas Rangers have signed pitcher Austin Pruitt to a minor league deal.

Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:

Per person with knowledge, Rangers have minor league deal with RHP Austin Pruitt, born in Plano, raised in The Woodlands, attended Navarro JC & UH. Had 2.98 ERA with Oakland last year as a reliever. I expect they’ll load up on these NRI guys. He’ll be in major league camp

Per person with knowledge, Rangers have minor league deal with RHP Austin Pruitt, born in Plano, raised in The Woodlands, attended Navarro JC & UH. Had 2.98 ERA with Oakland last year as a reliever. I expect they’ll load up on these NRI guys. He’ll be in major league camp

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) January 10, 2024

The 34-year-old Pruitt started his major league career in 2017 with the Tampa Bay Rays, staying there for three seasons. In 2021, he re-surfaced with the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. Then, he spent the last two years with the Athletics.

He has served as both a starter and a reliever in his career, starting 17 games out of 150 career appearances.

It's unknown at this point how the Rangers see him. Though the team won the World Series in 2023, the bullpen was the weakest portion of the roster, so he could end up out there. If the team sees him as a starter option, they do have a need there as well. Both Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom will miss significant portions of the season with injury, and Jordan Montgomery is currently a free agent.

Lifetime, Pruitt is 14-16 with a 4.43 ERA. 

Per MLBTradeRumors:

Pruitt doesn’t throw particularly hard, averaging 91.8 mph on his heater, but he’s kept the ball on the ground at close to league-average levels and has generally limited hard contact well (career 88.3 mph exit velocity, 33.8% hard-hit rate). 

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