Rangers, veteran reliever Nick Vincent agree to minor league deal

The Rangers agreed to a minor league contract with veteran reliever Nick Vincent, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). The right-hander will be invited to major league camp in spring training. He’s represented by PSI Sports Management.

In Vincent, Texas adds a nine-year MLB veteran who has a durable, effective track record. The 34-year-old spent the 2020 season with the Marlins, pitching to a 4.43 ERA and 4.52 SIERA in 22 1/3 innings, although nearly all of the damage done against Vincent came in his final two outings. He carried a 2.18 ERA into the final week of the season before serving up a combined six runs in two appearances at Atlanta’s Truist Park and Yankee Stadium.

As a soft-tossing righty in his mid-30s, it’s not a huge surprise that Vincent had to settle for a non-guaranteed pact, but based on his track record and the current state of the Rangers’ bullpen, he ought to have a good chance at making the club. The right-hander hasn’t been on the IL with an elbow or shoulder issue since 2014 — he did miss time in 2019 due to a pectoral strain — and has long been a steady source of quality innings. From 2013-19, Vincent punched out just under a quarter of the hitters he faced while walking batters at just a six percent clip (4.5 percent, if you throw out the intentional free passes).

On the whole, the former 18th-round pick has logged 399 innings at the major league level, and he has a strong 3.38 ERA that is backed up by a near-identical 3.40 SIERA. Vincent’s strikeout rate dipped to 18.5 percent last year, and his hard-contact rate spiked to career-worst levels. Still, his walk rate remained strong and his track record is one that’s plenty worth a low-risk flier of this nature.