Tyler Mahle saw his first official game action as a member of the Ranger organization tonight. Texas assigned the offseason signee to Triple-A Round Rock to begin a rehab assignment. Mahle threw two scoreless innings on 19 pitches in his first appearance since he underwent Tommy John surgery last May.
Texas inked the righty to a two-year, $22MM guarantee in December. Mahle is making $5.5MM this year and is due a $16.5MM salary for next season. The backloaded term reflected the fact that Mahle would miss the first few months of the 2023 season. His recovery process has gone smoothly thus far, opening the possibility he could make it to Globe Life Field not long after the July 30 trade deadline.
Mahle looked to be coming into his own as a mid-rotation starter in Cincinnati a few seasons ago. Between 2021 and the ’22 trade deadline, he turned in a 3.99 ERA over 52 starts. Mahle fanned 27% of opposing hitters against a solid 8.6% walk rate over that stretch. Despite pitching in a difficult home environment, he looked the part of a #3 starter. The Twins bought into that impressive form, sending Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer and Steve Hajjar to the Reds for the final year and a half of Mahle’s arbitration control.
That proved one of the more regrettable deadline deals in recent history. Injuries essentially derailed Mahle’s tenure in Minnesota from the beginning. Shoulder issues limited him to four starts down the stretch in ’22. Mahle looked to be in good form at the start of the next season. He carried a 3.16 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over five starts before his elbow gave out. The surgery marked a sour end to the impending free agent’s time in the Twin Cities.
If Mahle can rediscover the form he showed before the injuries, he’d be a major boost to the Texas rotation. The Rangers had hoped to stay afloat in the first half before welcoming back Max Scherzer, Mahle, and eventually Jacob deGrom from the injured list. They haven’t performed at the level they were expecting. They’re still seven games below .500 after tonight’s shutout victory over the Padres. Texas is seven and a half games back of the division-leading Mariners and for the final Wild Card spot held by the Royals.
While the defending champions have clearly underperformed, that’s not so much about their injury-riddled rotation. The starting pitching has held up about as well as the front office could have anticipated. The far bigger issue has been a lineup where only Josh Smith has played above preseason expectations. Corey Seager and Rookie of the Year favorite Wyatt Langford have picked things up after slow starts, but the overall offense hasn’t been good enough.
The Rangers have a few more weeks to clarify their deadline trajectory. Mahle himself will not be a trade candidate, but Texas has a number of impending free agents they could consider moving if they don’t turn things around quickly. If the Rangers play their way within a few games of a postseason spot, upgrading the bullpen and deepening the outfield could be priorities.
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