RHP Alex Speas designated for assignment
Seattle, Wash. — The Texas Rangers announced prior to Saturday afternoon’s game in Seattle that the club has selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Matt Bush (#49) from Triple-A Round Rock. To make room for Bush on the active roster the team has optioned left-handed pitcher Jake Latz to Round Rock. To accommodate Bush on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Alex Speas has been designated for assignment
The 37-year-old Bush will be seeking his first Major League action since his final outing with Milwaukee on June 30 at Pittsburgh. He went 0-2 with a 9.58 ERA over 12 relief outings with the Brewers this season before he was designated for assignment on July 1. He signed a minor league contract with Texas on July 12 and combined for a 2-0 record with a 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP) over 24 appearances with Frisco (AA) and Round Rock (AAA) to end the season. With the two Texas affiliates, he held opponents to a .191/.250/.346/.596 slash line with 8 walks and 38 strikeouts (11.15 strikeouts per 9 innings). His last game action came with Round Rock in Pacific Coast League Championship Series Game 2 on Wednesday at Oklahoma City (0.1 IP, 1 BF, 2 pitches/1 strike).
Bush made his Major League debut with the Rangers in 2016 and has spent the bulk of his MLB career with Texas. He went 12-7 with 12 saves and a 3.34 ERA over 180 games/5 starts with the Rangers from 2016-22. He was traded to Milwaukee on August 1, 2022 in exchange for infielder Mark Mathias and left-handed pitcher Antoine Kelly. His last outing with the Rangers was on July 29, 2022 at Los Angeles-AL.
Latz pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to finish Friday night’s loss in Seattle. He has 6.1 scoreless innings over 3 appearances spanning two stints with Texas this month: September 16-26 and September 29. Latz has spent the balance of the season with Round Rock, posting a 1-4 record with a 4.10 ERA (29 ER/63.2 IP) across 46 games/5 starts.
The Rangers have seven days to release or outright Speas to the minor leagues. Speas combined to go 5-2 with a 2.86 ERA over 49 games/one start with Frisco (AA) and Round Rock (AAA) this season. He also saw his first Major League action, allowing 3 runs-earned runs over 3 relief outings and 2.0 innings during his lone stint with Texas from July 19-24.
Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with five players (Jacob deGrom, Ian Kennedy Brett Martin, Brad Miller, Jake Odorizzi) on the 60-day Injured List.
