Foltynewicz agrees to 1-year deal with Texas
The shortened 2020 MLB season was tough on everyone, even the players who flourished in the 60-game season.
Pitchers, though, will be feeling the fallout in 2021 after not logging their usual number of innings to carry as a building block into the offseason and the new season.
The Texas Rangers are preparing to combat the innings shortfall as well as the lack of experience that also could haunt some of their young starters.
To that end, the Rangers signed freeagent right-hander Mike Foltynewicz to a one-year, $2 million contract Wednesday. He will jump into the rotation along with Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles, Kohei Arihara and a cast of young pitchers headed by Dane Dunning and Kyle Cody.
Foltynewicz was an All-star in 2018 for the Atlanta Braves, but his final two seasons with them were not as productive. He only pitched 3 1/3 big league innings last season while spending most of his time at the alternate camp.
But he will be asked to carry a relatively heavy workload, assuming he’s healthy and effective.
“I only got maybe 30 innings in, but we were still throwing every day and getting our bullpens in,” Foltynewicz said. “I didn’t really take much time off from throwing this offseason. I knew I didn’t get that many innings in, but I wanted to keep my arm in shape and keep it where it needs to be for the season.”
The Rangers have seen Foltynewicz pitch this offseason and were encouraged that his fastball velocity will be what it was during his best seasons. He was pumping heaters at 96 mph in 2018.
However, he was clocked at 90 mph in his only 2020 appearance with the Braves. Though he threw frequently
during the shutdown, he said he lost strength and weight without a place to lift weights as he would during a season.
General manager Chris Young said the Rangers saw Foltynewicz’s fastball hit 92 during a bullpen session in late January, an indication that he will regain his mid-90s velocity. The Rangers also are not concerned that he won’t be able to carry his usual innings workload.
“We’ve asked this question to our doctors and our medical team, and there’s no real data to suggest that he can’t approach any totals that he’s previously done throughout his career,” Young said. “It would be one thing if he was coming off surgery or a major injury, but he’s healthy.”
The Rangers should have three inningeating pitchers in the rotation — Gibson, Foltynewicz and Arihara. Lyles could potentially be a fourth, but he needs to be much better than he was in 2020.
That leaves the fifth spot. Young said the Rangers could look to bring in another starter or two as non-roster invites to camp, but they are also looking at various ways to use what they have in house.
Dunning, acquired in the Lance Lynn trade in December, and Cody have yet to pitch a full season after Tommy John surgery. They have the potential to piggyback each other in the fifth spot, or take shifts in the majors between optional assignments to Triple A Round Rock.
A large group of other starters, including Kolby Allard and Joe Palumbo, will also help the Rangers fill innings either as starters or multiple-inning relievers.
“As we shore up the roster here and look at it, we do have some depth,” Young said. “We’ll try to get creative in how we utilize these guys and manage workloads in the season.”