Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has signed free agent right-handed pitcher Tyler Mahle (rhymes with rally) to a two-year Major League contract covering the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Mahle, 29, is expected to miss the beginning of the 2024 campaign as he continues rehabilitation from ‘Tommy John’ ligament replacement surgery performed in late May. He went 1-2 with a 3.16 ERA (9 ER/25.2 IP) and 28 strikeouts over 5 games/starts for Minnesota in 2023 before being placed on the 15-day Injured List on May 3 with a right arm posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain. The right-hander was transferred to the 60-day Injured List on May 5 and underwent the season-ending procedure on his throwing elbow on May 22, with Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister performing the operation.
Over the last four seasons dating back to 2020, Mahle is 22-18 with a 3.90 ERA (162 ER/374.0 IP) and 424 strikeouts over 71 games/70 starts. He ranks among Major League pitchers with at least 350.0 innings pitched over that span in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (17th, 10.20), strikeout percentage (20th, 27.1%), and opponent batting average (27th, .228). According to Baseball Savant (Statcast), opposing hitters have batted .223 (157-704) against Mahle’s four-seam fastball over the last four seasons, the 13th-lowest opp. batting average allowed by any MLB pitcher with at least 2,500 four-seamers thrown in that span.
Mahle has spent parts of two injury-shortened campaigns with the Twins since being acquired from Cincinnati on August 2, 2022 in exchange for infielders Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and left-handed pitcher Steve Hajjar. He combined to post a 2-3 record, 3.64 ERA (17 ER/42.0 IP), and 40 strikeouts/9 walks across 9 games/starts for Minnesota in that period, enduring Injured List stints for right shoulder inflammation (August 20, 2023-end of season) and recovery from ‘Tommy John’ surgery (May 3, 2023-end of season).
The Newport Beach, Calif. Native spent the first 10 years of his professional career in the Reds organization (beg. 2013), including a 31-38 record, 4.35 ERA (287 ER/593.2 IP), and 9.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings over 114 appearances/113 starts at the Major League level. He produced career highs in wins, starts, quality starts (12), innings pitched, and strikeouts (210) in 2021, going 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA (75 ER/180.0 IP) in 33 games/starts while ranking among National League leaders in starts (T1st), strikeouts per 9.0 innings (7th, 10.50), strikeouts (9th), and wins (T10th). His 10.50 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure from that year remains the 5th-highest single-season mark in franchise history.
A veteran of seven Major League campaigns, Mahle has compiled a lifetime 33-41 record, 4.30 ERA (304 ER/635.2 IP), and 677 strikeouts (9.6 SO/9) over 123 appearances/122 starts with Cincinnati (2017-22) and Minnesota (2022-23). He was originally selected by the Reds in the 7th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Westminster (Calif.) High School.
With the addition of Mahle, the Rangers now have 38 players on the club’s Major League roster.
