Sborz, 32, returns to the team he spent the past five years with. The high point of that tenure was 2023. Sborz had an unimpressive 5.50 average that season, but the underlying numbers were better. His walk rate of 7.9% was slightly better than average and his strikeout rate of 30.7% was very strong. A small beach rate of 56% seemed to allow for some extra runs, which is why his 3.75 FIP and 3.05 SIERA were much more bullish.
Things have largely corrected in the postseason. Sborz gave the Rangers 12 innings over 10 appearances, allowing just one earned run while striking out 13, making him one of the most impactful players in the club championship.
Since then, however, things have gotten a bit rockier. Rotator cuff/shoulder issues hampered him through 2024 and he threw just 16 1/3 innings that season. In November of that year, he underwent debridement surgery, a procedure that was expected to sideline him for the first two or three months of the 2025 campaign. His rehabilitation from that surgery did not go as quickly as hoped and he ended up missing the entire season.
The Rangers could have retained Sborz through arbitration through 2026. Players usually see their salaries stabilize if they miss an entire season. As such, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Sborz at the same $1.1 million figure in 2025. Texas decided not to tender him a contract and instead sent him to free agency.
It wouldn’t hurt for the club to bring Sborz back via a non-roster pact. They can take him to camp and see if he can get some of his speed back. That was a problem for him last year, but he is now further away from surgery.
This is the second straight season in which the Rangers have tried to build a competitive bullpen while working around budget issues. Last year they gave one-year deals worth $5.5 million or less Chris Martin, Hobby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb And Shawn Armstrong. Most of these pitchers performed quite well, but they also became free agents, putting the Rangers in a similar spot again this winter.
So far, they have reunited with Martin and signed as well Jacob Junis, Alexis Diaz And Tyler Alexander. All of these deals were worth $4 million or less. Those guys will be in the bullpen with incumbents Robert García And Cole Winnwith line 5 choice Carter Baumler in the mix. Sborz will try to force his way onto the Texas roster.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
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