The Rangers have signed 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Nathan Haynes to a minor league contract. He played in 20 games for the Rays last season and he was 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .504 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Haynes has now played in 60 games in his major league career and he is 22 for 89 (.247 avg, .565 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Haynes will likely start the season in AAA and only get a call to Arlington if the Rangers suffer some injuries in 2009.

The Texas Rangers have signed 30-year old righty reliever Derrick Turnbow to a 1-year contract. He pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 15.63 ERA and a 3.95 WHIP. Turnbow has now pitched in 257 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 17-16 with 65 saves, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Turnbow has great stuff but he often has no idea where the ball is going as evidenced by the fact that he has walked 168 batters while whiffing 265 in 257.2 career innings in the bigs. This was a decent low risk/high reward signing for the Rangers.

The Texas Rangers have signed 27-year old righty pitcher Casey Daigle to a minor league deal. The 27-year old righty pitched in 44 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 1-5 with 1 save, a 3.78 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Daigle has also pitched in 20 games (10 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-3 with a 6.46 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Chances are that Daigle will not succeed with the Rangers in 2009.

The Rangers have invited 25-year old righty starting pitcher Elizardo Ramirez to spring training to compete for a job on the pitching staff. Last season he appeared in only 1 game for the Rangers out of the bullpen and he was 0-1 with a 30.37 ERA and a 3.75 WHIP! Ramirez has now pitched in 39 games (26 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-15 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The fact that Ramirez gets another shot with the Rangers just goes to prove how desperate they are for pitching help.