December 14, 2020
Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has signed the following three players to Minor League contracts with invitations to 2021 Major League Spring Training camp:
· Right-handed pitcher Jharel Cotton (pronounced juh-rell)
· Outfielder Jason Martin
· Right-handed pitcher Edubray Ramos (pronounced ed-doo-BRAY)
Cotton, 28, spent last season in the Chicago Cubs organization, with his only game action taking place in exhibition contests. He had a 2-0 record and 9.45 ERA (7 ER/6.2 IP) over 5 relief appearances in Spring Training, with his last outing in an exhibition contest against the White Sox on July 19 at Wrigley Field. He was designated for assignment on August 16, assigned outright to the Cubs’ Alternate Site on August 20, and released on September 5. Cotton had ‘Tommy John’ ligament replacement surgery performed by Rangers Team Physician Dr. Keith Meister on March 31, 2018, missing the rest of that season. His only Major League action came with Oakland in 2016-17, when he combined to go 11-10 with a 4.95 ERA over 29 games/starts. His last MLB outing was against the Rangers on September 24, 2017 in Oakland.
The 25-year-old Martin has appeared in 27 Major League games with Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, including four stints in 2020 (Opening Day-July 26, August 28-31, September 6-14, and September 18). The 5-foot-9, 185-pound outfielder spent the majority of last season at the Pirates’ Alternate Training Site. He was originally selected by Houston in the 8th round of the 2013 June draft and traded to Pittsburgh on January 13, 2018 in a multi-player deal involving Gerrit Cole, with whom he shares an alma mater (Orange Lutheran High School in California). Martin has compiled a .268 batting average, 71 home runs, 343 RBI, and 95 stolen bases in 681 games over seven minor league seasons.
Ramos, who turns 28 on December 19, did not see official game action in 2020 after signing a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January. He was included in the team’s 60-man player pool at the start of the regular season in July, but was limited to workouts with the club’s Alternate Site roster at the University of Southern California for the entirety of the campaign. Prior to joining the Dodgers, the right-hander had spent each of the previous seven seasons in the Philadelphia organization, where he made three consecutive Opening Day rosters from 2017-19. A native of Venezuela, Ramos has posted lifetime marks of a 7-11 record, 3.71 ERA and 9.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings over 173 relief appearances across four MLB seasons with the Phillies (2016-19), including a career-best 2.32 ERA over 42.2 IP in 2018.
Cotton, Martin, and Ramos are the first three non-roster players with invitations to 2021 Texas Rangers Spring Training camp.Read more:
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