The Rangers have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Dave Bush to a minor league deal. Bush pitched in 32 games (31 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 8-13 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He had his troubles last season as he gave up 198 hits (28 of which were homers) in 174 1/3 innings last season so he got hit pretty hard. But, Bush has good stuff and I think he will have a really good shot of winning a job in the Rangers’ starting rotation this spring. Bush has now pitched in 193 games (184 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 56-68 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. I like this signing for the Rangers as Bush is a decent pitcher and he came at a bargain price.

The Rangers have signed 28-yeaer old righty starter/reliever Ty Taubenheim to a minor league deal. Taubenheim pitched in 21 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 6-6 with 1 save, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2008 with the Pirates. He has pitched in 14 games (9 starts) in parts of three years in the majors and he is 1-5 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. This was an organizational depth signing and little more for the Rangers as Taubenheim doesn’t have much of an upside.

UPDATE: (4/2/2011) - The Rangers have released Ty Taubenheim. Taubenheim only pitched in 1 game in spring training and he whiffed the only batter he faced.

The Rangers have signed 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Jose Julio Ruiz to a minor league deal. Last season was Ruiz’ first in the states. He played in 36 games in Rookie+AA-ball for the Tampa Bay Rays in which he was 46 of 139 (.331 avg, .884 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 2 homers and 20 RBIs. Ruiz showed a pretty good eye last season as he walked 21 times while whiffing 25 times. With Ruiz being an older prospect, the Rangers will probably put him on the fast track and see what kind of competition he can handle. He has a nice upside so I like this signing for the Rangers.

32-year old righty swinging Yorvit Torrealba will be the Rangers’ starting catcher in 2011. Torrealba played in 95 games for the Padres last season and he was 88 of 325 (.271 avg, .721 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 37 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. His power numbers will likely increase with him playing his home games in Texas instead of San Diego. He only made 3 errors in 92 games for the Padres last season but he had 7 passed balls and that’s way too many. Torrealba threw out 13 of 60 (21.7%) runners trying to steal against him last season and Padres’ pitchers loved throwing to him as they had a 3.14 ERA with him behind the plate. The Rangers pitchers are going to benefit with Torrealba behind the plate as long as he cuts down on the passed balls.

34-year old righty swinging Matt Treanor will likely be the Rangers’ #2 catcher in 2011. Treanor played in 82 games for the Rangers last season and he was 50 of 237 (.211 avg, .595 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Treanor only had 3 errors and 2 passed balls in 81 games behind the plate for the Rangers last season. He threw out 11 of 61 (18.0%) runners trying to steal against him last season and Rangers’ pitchers liked throwing to him as they had a 3.92 ERA with Treanor behind the plate.

29-year old righty swinging Mike Napoli will get most of his P.T. at 1B and DH in 2011 for the Rangers but he can catch if needed. Napoli made 6 errors and he had 5 passed balls in only 66 games behind the plate for the Angels last season. He also threw out 13 of 71 (18.3%) runners trying to steal against him while Angels’ pitchers had a 5.13 ERA with him behind the plate. Let’s face it, Napoli was acquired for his bat, not his glove. The Rangers hope they don’t need Napoli to catch much in 2011 due to his defensive issues.

27-year old righty swinging, former top prospect Taylor Teagarden is running out of time to prove himself for the Rangers. He played in 28 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 11 of 71 (.155 avg, .597 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 6 RBIs. Teagarden often looked helpless with a bat in his hands as he whiffed 34 times last season! Teagarden had 2 errors and 3 passed balls in only 28 games behind the plate for the Rangers last season. He only threw out 3 of 18 (16.7%) runners trying to steal on him last season and Rangers’ pitchers had a 4.30 ERA with him behind the plate. Teagarden will likely start the season in AAA and he better have a good year there or the Rangers might give up on him.

33-year old righty swinging Kevin Cash played in 49 games for the Astros & Red Sox last season in which he was 19 of 114 (.167 avg, .483 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. In parts of 8 years in the majors, Cash has a .183 career average with a .526 OPS in 246 games as he is one of the worst hitters around. He only made 1 error in 48 games in the majors last season but he also had 7 passed balls as he was Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher in Boston. Cash threw out 5 of 45 (11.1%) runners trying to steal against him last season and pitchers had a 4.16 ERA with him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RANGERS CATCHERS IN 2011: C

The Rangers have signed 27-year old righty swinging catcher Robinzon Diaz to a minor league deal. Diaz played in 71 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 64 of 251 (.255 avg, .620 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 1 homer and 21 RBIs. He last played in the majors in 2009 with the Pirates. Diaz has played in 44 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 39 of 139 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homers, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Diaz will likely be stashed in AAA-ball as he will come to spring training likely #5 on the depth chart behind the plate.

The Texas Rangers have acquired 29-year old righty swinging C/1B/DH Mike Napoli from the Blue Jays for 31-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco. Napoli played in 140 games for the Los Angeles Angels last season and he was 108 of 453 (.238 avg, .784 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 26 homers, 68 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 506 games in his first 5 years in the majors and he is 389 of 1,549 (.251 avg, .831 OPS) with 246 runs scored, 92 homers, 249 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Napoli will likely platoon with Mitch Moreland at 1B in 2011. He will also likely pick up some starts at DH and behind the plate for the Rangers in 2011. The Angels have to be a tad angry at the Blue Jays for trading Mike Napoli into the American League West.

Frank Francisco pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He pitched in 277 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Rangers and he was 17-15 with 32 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. With this deal, the Rangers won’t likely consider moving Neftali Feliz into the starting rotation and that is a smart move.

The Rangers have signed 32-year old switch hitting infielder Matt Kata to a minor league deal. Kata played in 132 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 131 of 485 (.270 avg, .686 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 6 homers, 47 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He last played in the majors in 2009 with the Houston Astros. Kata has played in 278 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 166 of 695 (.239 avg, .660 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 12 homers, 63 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Kata will get a shot to win a job on the Rangers’ bench this spring.

The Texas Rangers have dealt 27-year old righty reliever Guillermo Moscoso to the A’s for 23-year old righty reliever Ryan Kelly. Moscoso pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA and a 6.00 WHIP. He pitched in 11 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Rangers and he was 0-0 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Ryan Kelly pitched in 38 games (1 start) in A-ball last year and he was 2-3 with 4 saves, a 4.20 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He whiffed 75 batters while only walking 14 in 75 innings last season showing that he has both decent stuff and good control. Kelly has now pitched in 81 games (11 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 6-7 with 11 saves, a 4.74 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This was a good deal as the Rangers had just designated Moscoso for assignment.

59-year old starting pitcher Bert Blyleven has been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He pitched in 2 years for the Texas Rangers (1976 + 1977) working in 54 games (all starts) in which he was 23-23 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Blyleven didn’t get much run support because he should have won a lot more games for the Rangers than he did, based on how well he pitched for them. Blyleven pitched in 692 games (685 starts) in his 22 years in the majors and he was 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.

The Texas Rangers have signed 31-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre to a 5-year, $80 million dollar deal with a vesting option worth $16 million bucks for 2016. Beltre played in 154 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 189 of 589 (.321 avg, .919 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 28 homers, 102 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Beltre has now played in 1,835 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 1,889 of 6,874 (.275 avg, .791 OPS) with 912 runs scored, 278 homers, 1,008 RBIs and 113 stolen bases. Beltre finally made his first All-Star Game last season for the Red Sox. He has also won 2 Gold Gloves and 2 Silver Slugger Awards in his major league career so far. The last time Beltre signed a big deal he didn’t seem motivated so the Rangers hope this time will be different. Beltre’s arrival will push Michael Young to the DH spot and he should be able to handle it well.