The Rangers brought lefty reliever John King back to the organization on a minor league deal, reports Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. The MLB.com transaction tracker indicates the contract was finalized last night, which means he would be eligible for postseason play if Texas qualifies.
King would be a long shot to secure a spot on the playoff roster in either case. The southpaw was released by Miami last week. King had signed with the Fish on a $1.5MM free agent contract and pitched well for the first three months. His numbers started to dip in July and the wheels completely came off in August. King has allowed 13 runs on as many hits with seven walks and three strikeouts across 9 2/3 innings since the All-Star Break.
That’s a far cry from the 2.18 ERA which King carried through the first half. He’s working with a career-low 90.4 mph average sinker velocity and has leaned more heavily on his secondary stuff than in years past. King’s 47.2% ground-ball rate is a personal low, and while he’s compensated with a few more strikeouts, he has built his career off keeping the ball on the ground as a situational arm.
King will try to get on track in a familiar setting, as he’s a former Texas draftee who made 87 appearances for the Rangers from 2020-23. Texas dealt him to the Cardinals at the ’23 deadline as part of the Jordan Montgomery trade, so he collected a World Series ring that year. Montgomery is coincidentally one of at least five left-handers ahead of King on the depth chart now. Closer Jacob Latz is also joined by Tyler Alexander, Robby Ahlstrom and Adam Macko in the big league bullpen.
