{"id":17709,"date":"2026-01-25T14:21:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T22:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=17709"},"modified":"2026-01-25T14:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T22:21:46","slug":"rangers-sign-austin-gomber-to-minors-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/01\/25\/rangers-sign-austin-gomber-to-minors-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers Sign Austin Gomber to Minors Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers<\/a> have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with left-hander\u00a0Austin Gomber<\/a><\/strong>. The new deal includes an invite to major league spring training next month.<\/p>\n

Drafted by the Cardinals<\/h4>\n

Austin Gomber was a fourth-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> in 2014. He made his big league debut with the team in 2018 but was traded to the Colorado Rockies<\/a> in the Nolan Arenado<\/a><\/strong> deal. Gomber has spent most of his career with the Rockies at this point.<\/p>\n

He posted a 3.72 ERA with a 3.89 FIP in his 104 innings for the Cardinals, and at the time of his trade to Colorado, the Rockies were surely hoping he could become a reliable No. 4 starter for the club alongside pitchers like German Marquez<\/a><\/strong> and Kyle Freeland<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Up and Down<\/h4>\n

The results of Gomber\u2019s time with the Rockies were mixed. His 4.53 ERA (94 ERA-minus; 100 = League Average, lower the better) in 23 starts for the Rockies in his debut season with the club was good, but he took a step back in 2022 and \u201923 before creeping back up to roughly league average numbers in 2024. A big part of that step backwards was a decline in strikeout rate. He punched out 23.2% of his opponents while walking 8.4% in 2021.<\/p>\n

Over his next three seasons, Austin Gomber managed to shave two points off that walk rate, lowering it to 6.3%, but that came at the expense of a much greater dip in strikeouts. From 2022-24, Gomber struck out only 16.3% of his opponents, a nearly seven-point drop relative to 2021. Gomber\u2019s ground ball rate also dipped from a strong 44.3% to 40.5%.<\/p>\n

Added Depth<\/h4>\n

Austin Gomber should give some much-needed rotation depth to the Rangers. They are in clear need of it even after trading for MacKenzie Gore<\/a><\/strong>. A rotation that could feature Gore, Jacob deGrom<\/a><\/strong>, Nathan Eovaldi<\/a><\/strong>, Jack Leiter<\/a><\/strong>, and Kumar Rocker<\/a><\/strong> looks very strong on paper, but Eovaldi and deGrom both come with substantial injury risk, and Rocker has yet to prove himself as a capable starter in the major leagues.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>