Rangers Bring Back Tepesch on Minor-League Deal

With all the guys the Rangers have possibly competing for the No. 5 slot in their starting rotation, there is one key name that has been forgotten in the mix.

Nick Tepesch has had an up-and-down career with the Rangers — more downs than ups — with the lowest of lows coming in 2015 when he had to miss the entire season after having surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. In the meantime, he was basically forgotten as an internal candidate for the back-end depth in the Rangers' rotation, particularly with the emergence of Chi Chi Gonzalez and the return of Martin Perez from Tommy John surgery.

Tepesch's most recent run in the majors was in 2014 with Texas, where he posted a 5-11 record with a 4.36 ERA in 22 starts. He'll be a guy that will compete in the spring for a rotation spot, but it'll be a short-term spot given the fact Yu Darvish is set to return by mid-May and will bump everyone back a spot and likely make Colby Lewis the No. 5 starter behind Cole Hamels, Darvish, Derek Holland and Perez.

Tepesch could be some nice depth in the Rangers system along with Gonzalez if he can return from his missed year and have a productive spring because, as the Rangers have learned in recent years, there are always starting pitching injuries to worry about.

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