Rangers sign RHP Edinson Vólquez, C Tim Federowicz and RHP Ian Gibaut to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training
The Rangers also announced that the club has signed the following three players to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training camp: Right-handed pitchers Edinson Vólquez and Ian Gibaut (pronounced jih-BOH), and catcher Tim Federowicz (pronounced fehd-er-oh-vich).
Federowicz, 32, batted .160 (12-75) with 4 home runs and 7 RBI in 29 games over two stints with Texas last season (June 7-August 1, September 20-end of season). He was originally acquired in a June 7 trade with the Cleveland Indians and batted a combined .224 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI over 42 games at the Triple-A level with Columbus and Nashville in 2019. Federowicz has seen Major League action in eight of nine seasons from 2011-19, appearing with Los Angeles-NL (2011-14), Chicago-NL (2016), San Francisco (2017), Houston (2018), Cincinnati (2018), and Texas (2019).
The 26-year-old Gibaut was not tendered a contract by the Rangers prior to the non-tender deadline on November 30, which made him a free agent. The right-hander split the second half of the 2019 season between Texas and Triple-A Nashville after coming to the Rangers in a trade from Tampa Bay on July 28. He allowed 7 R/ER over 9 games/12.1 innings with Texas after making his Major League debut with the Rays on July 12. Prior to 2019, the Houston native had spent his entire career in the Rays organization since being selected in the 11th round of the 2015 June draft out of Tulane University.
Vólquez went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA over 11 games/4 starts in his return to Texas last season, a campaign interrupted by a nearly five-month stay on the injured list. He was on the injured list from April 5-August 31 with a right elbow strain, this after missing the entire 2018 season following ‘Tommy John’ ligament replacement surgery on August 4, 2017. The 36-year-old veteran has a career 93-88 record with a 4.45 ERA over 287 games/273 starts with Texas (2005-07, 2019), Cincinnati (2008-11), San Diego (2012-13), Los Angeles-NL (2013), Pittsburgh (2014), Kansas City (2015-16), and Miami (2017). Vólquez was originally signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent on October 29, 2001.
The Rangers are currently at the 40-man limit on the Major League roster, and the team has also signed 10 players with non-roster invitations to Major League Spring Training camp.