Texas Rangers Announce 9 Players With Major League Camp Invites, Spring Training Camp Report Dates

The Texas Rangers sign nine players to minor league deals with invitations to Major League spring training camp, which starts in full on Feb. 17 in Surprise, Ariz.

Mar 8, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; A general view of game action between the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers will have their first workout on Feb. 12 in Surprise, Ariz., the club announced on Thursday.

The Rangers first full squad workout is set for Feb. 17, with photo day two days later.

The club announced they have minor league deals with nine players with invitations to Major League spring training camp. The nine players include:

C Tucker Barnhart
C Cooper Johnson
INF Jax Biggers
NF Alan Trejo
LHP Michael Plassmeyer
RHP Caleb Boushley
RHP Codi Heuer
RHP Nolan Hoffman
RHP Adrian Houser

Barnhart, who turns 34 in January, is an 11-year MLB veteran and two-time Rawlings Gold Glove recipient in 2017 and 2020. He has a career slash line of .241/.318/.351/.669 (659-2736) with 53 home runs and 292 RBI. He split last season with the Arizona and Cincinnati originations, batting .173 in 31 games with the Diamondbacks. Barnhart was a 10th-round selection by the Reds in 2009. He has a 7.1 dWAR since 2016, fifth-highest among catchers in that span, according to Baseball-reference.com.

Biggers re-signed with the Rangers after becoming a free agent. Biggers, 27, has been in the Rangers system since he was drafted in the 8th round in 2018. The infielder played 58 games at second, 44 games at shortstop, 12 games at third, and four games in left field for Triple-A Round Rock in 2024.
He slashed .275/.390/.382/.772 (100-364) with three home runs, four triples, 22 doubles and 55 RBI in 119 games in 2024.

Trejo, 28, batted .143 in 28 games for the Colorado Rockies in 2024, starting 14 games at second, three games at third, and two at shortstop. Colorado designated him for assignment on June 28 and he signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 1. He spent the remainder of the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .265 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 59 games.

Boushley, 31, is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 6.1 innings of relief, including two gamers with the Twins in 2024 and one game with the Brewers in 2023. He is 48-37 with one save and a 4.41 ERA in 179 games, including 120 starts, in seven minor league seasons.

Heuer, 28, was re-signed as a minor league free agent after signing with Texas before the 2024 season but did not pitch while recovering from a right elbow fracture. He is 10-4 with a 3.56 ERA over 86 career MLB relief appearances for the Chicago White Sox (2020-21) and Chicago Cubs (2021). Heuer was selected by the White Sox in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft from Wichita State University.

Hoffman, 27, led the Orioles' Triple-A Norfolk staff with eight wins and 44 appearances in 2024, posting a 3.88 ERA in 58 innings and career-high 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 2024. Hoffman was the Mariners' fifth round selection in 2018 out of Texas A&M.

Houser was 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA in 69 1/3 innings over 23 games, including seven starts for the New York Mets in 2024. Houser, who turns 32 in February, spent most of 2024 with Triple-A Iowa and Triple-A Norfolk, going 0-4 with a 6.37 ERA in seven starts. A native of Tahlequah, Okla., Houser was a second-round selection by the Astros in 2011 out of Locust Grove High School in Oklahoma.

Johnson, 26, will be in an MLB spring training camp for the first time. He has spent the past two seasons in the organization. Johnson batted .235/.355/.474/.829 with 14 home runs, 18 doubles, and 46 RBI in 79 games with Double-A Frisco in 2024. He was a sixth round pick by the Tigers in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Plassmeyer, 28, was a fourth round pick by Seattle in 2018. He was 5-10 with a 7.93 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 28 games, including 11 starts in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirate’s Triple-A affiliate. He made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in August 2022 and has a 9.82 ERA in three career MLB appearances, including one start, with the Phillies.

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