The Rangers are reportedly close to a major league deal with pitcher Luis Curvelo
The Texas Rangers are close to an agreement on a major league contract with righthanded relief pitcher Luis Curvelo, per reports.
Curvelo, who turned 24 last month, has spent his entire career in the Seattle Mariners organization. He became a minor league free agent once the World Series ended, having not been added to the Mariners’ 40 man roster prior to that time. Eric Longenhagen had him at #31 over the Mariners’ prospect list at Fangraphs this past summer. He doesn’t appear to have ever cracked the BA top 30 list for Seattle.
Curvelo is a fastball/slider guy who had not pitched above A ball before this past season, when he spent the entire year at AA, putting up a 2.57 ERA in 66 innings over 49 games, with 78 Ks against 18 walks. Longenhagen says his fastball plays down to its shape, which is something that the Rangers may look to do something about.
He’s not someone I would have guessed would be getting a major league deal this offseason. Whether multiple teams are offering him major league deals, or the Rangers are giving him a major league deal to get an edge on the other teams pursuing him, I do not know. He will have a full three options going forward, though, and if he doesn’t show what the Rangers want to see this spring or once the season starts, it would be simply enough to put him on the waiver wire if they need a 40 man spot.