The Texas Rangers have acquired pitcher Daniel Duarte from the Cincinnati Reds

The Texas Rangers have acquired righthanded pitcher Daniel Duarte from the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations, the team announced today. Duarte has been designated for assignment by Cincinnati. With this move, the 40 man roster is now full.

Duarte, who turned 27 last month, was originally part of the Rangers’ 2013 J-2 class. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals from the Rangers in the minor league portion of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. After a couple of years with Kansas City, he signed with Cincinnati, and ended up spending some time in their bullpen each of the past two seasons.

Duarte missed most of 2022 due to an elbow issue. He split the 2023 season between the majors and AAA Louisville. In the bigs, he put up a 3.69 ERA in 31 innings in 31 games, striking out we and walking 20, logging a 5.84 FIP. For Louisville, he had a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings, with 39 Ks against 17 walks. Duarte averaged 94.9 mph with his fastball while in the majors in 2023.

It remains to be seen whether Duarte sticks on the 40 man roster all spring. He does have options remaining, so Texas can send him down if he doesn’t make the team. In addition, there will be four players — Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle and Carson Coleman — who will likely be on the 60 day injured list to start the season, so Texas will be able to open up some addition 40 man roster spots.

The Rangers also announced they have signed veteran righthander Jose Urena to a minor league deal. Urena was originally with the Miami Marlins organization, and had a couple of good seasons in their rotation in 2017 and 2018. Since then, however, he’s posted 5+ ERAs every year. He split the 2023 season between the Washington Nationals, the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox, logging ten starts in total for Chicago and Colorado with a 6.45 ERA.