The Rangers sign Adrian Houser to the Minors

The Rangers signed the right-hander Adrian Houser to a minor league deal, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media (via X). The contract contains an invitation to the Rangers’ big league spring camp.

It was just under a year ago that the Mets acquired Houser and Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers, as New York president of baseball operations David Stearns looked to bolster the Mets’ roster with two familiar faces from his old position in Milwaukee. Taylor had respectable results as part of New York’s outfield mix, but Houser had a much tougher time in the Big Apple, posting a 5.84 ERA over 69 1/3 innings.

Injuries to other pitchers opened the door for Houser to begin the season in the Mets’ rotation, and he temporarily returned to starting pitching when the Mets briefly adopted a six-man rotation. The divisions were pretty stark: Houser had an 8.55 ERA in 33 2/3 innings as a starter and a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings as a reliever, with those bullpen assignments usually they came in multi-inning form.

Although it appeared Houser had found his groove as a long reliever, the Mets decided to designate him for assignment and then release him in late July. The Cubs and Orioles signed Houser to minor league contracts during the season, but those deals failed to translate into more big league playing time for the righty.

More to come…