Anthony Bass will be a forgotten piece of the Rangers' surprising run to the AL West crown in 2015, but he was a huge part of the glue that held the Rangers' pitching staff together during the lean first few months of the season before trades bolstered it into a championship staff.
Bass was a long man for the Rangers and gave them some really quality innings when guys were lasting an inning or two. He finished the year with a 4.50 ERA in 64 innings and was dealt to the Seattle Mariners in December along with Leonys Martin for reliever Tom Wilhelmsen.
Now, he's heading off to Japan after he was granted his release on Thursday to pursue a deal in Japan that would pay him more money since he wasn't going to be guaranteed a spot on the Mariners' Opening Day roster.
In a way, it's a win for the Rangers given the Mariners gave up a pretty good piece for him (and moreso Martin, of course) and now he won't be in the Rangers' division anymore to potentially hurt them. But mainly, it's just a good opportunity for Bass, who worked his tail off in 2015 in helping the Rangers shock the baseball world.
