With the Texas Rangers' starting rotation a bit shaky since the loss of Yu Darvish for the season, they made a move that could pay off on Monday evening by signing veteran left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to a minor-league deal.
Rodriguez will be a part of the rotation at Triple-A Round Rock and will be a free agent in a month if he isn't on the big-league roster. Though he hasn't pitched in the majors since last May, ironically for Jeff Banister's Pittsburgh Pirates, Rodriguez has some skins on the wall.
Rodriguez had four straight season of at least 190 innings from 2009-2012 with Houston before being traded to Pittsburgh in 2012 and playing all of 2013 for the Pirates. He signed with the Braves this winter and went 2-0 with a respectable 3.13 ERA this spring with Atlanta before the Braves decided to cut the 36-year-old veteran.
Rodriguez has never pitched in the American League, which is always a bit of a concern given the inflated numbers good NL pitchers suffer when they have to face a DH every night, but this is definitely a low risk very well worth taking for the Rangers.
