The Rangers have dealt 26-year old righty swinging catcher Juan Apodaca to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.  Apodaca played in 83 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Cubs last year and he was 62 of 213 (.291 avg, .806 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 29 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He has now played in 505 games in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 410 of 1,634 (.251 avg, .705 OPS) with 189 runs scored, 39 homers, 204 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.  This won’t hurt the Rangers too much moving forward as they have a lot of quality depth in the organization at catcher for 2013.

The Rangers have acquired 28-year old righty swinging catcher Robinson Chirinos from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.  Chirinos missed the entire 2012 season due to a nasty concussion.  He got his first (and only) taste of the majors for the Rays in 2011.  He played in 20 games for the Rays in 2011 and he was 12 for 55 (.218 avg, .592 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs.  Chirinos has played in 951 games in his first 11 years in the minors and he is 830 of 3,191 (.260 avg, .768 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 85 homers, 420 RBIs and 65 stolen bases.  He will start his career with the Rangers in AAA-ball.

UPDATE:  (4/23/2013) - The Rangers have sent cash to the Rays to complete this deal.

The Rangers have dealt 19-year old switch-hitting outfielder Desmond Henry to the Royals to complete the deal for Tommy Hottovy.  Henry only played in 2 games in Rookie-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg, .333 OPS) with 1 run scored.  Henry played in 25 games in his two years in the minors for the Rangers and he was 8 for 61 (.131 avg, .405 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Rangers, but Henry is still really young….so he could develop down the road for the Royals.

The Rangers have acquired 25-year old righty reliever Cory Burns from the Padres for either a player to be named later or cash considerations. Burns pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Padres in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 0-1 with a 5.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 52 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year for the Padres and he was 1-2 with 3 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Burns will get a shot to make the Rangers’ bullpen next spring.

UPDATE: (12/6/2012) - The Rangers have sent 23-year old righty reliever Wilfredo Boscan to the Padres as they player to be named later in this deal. Boscan pitched in 34 games (9 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 7-5 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

The Rangers have acquired 24-year old righty starter Jacob Brigham from the Cubs for 23-year old righty starting pitcher Barret Loux and a player to be named later. Brigham was traded to the Cubs by the Rangers last July in the Geovany Soto deal. Brigham pitched in 23 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers and Cubs last year and he was 5-7 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 137 games (103 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 27-44 with 1 save, a 4.49 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Barret Loux pitched in 25 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 14-1 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Loux came into last year as the Rangers’ #20 prospect according to Baseball America. The Rangers must really like Brigham to make a deal like this one.

UPDATE: (12/1/2012) - The Rangers have decided not to tender a contract for 2013 to Jacob Brigham, making him a free agent.

UPDATE II: (12/6/2012) - The Rangers have re-signed Jacob Brigham to a minor league deal.

The Rangers have acquired 31-year old lefty reliever Tom Hottovy from the Rangers for a player to be named later or cash. Hottovy pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year in which he was 2-2 with 7 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Hottovy has now pitched in 17 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. Hottovy will get a shot to win a job out of the pen as a situational lefty next spring.

UPDATE: (1/8/2012) - The Rangers have designated Tom Hottovy for assignment.

UPDATE: (1/10/2012) - The Rangers have lost Tom Hottovy on waivers to the Blue Jays.