Rangers sign six new minor league players, including Diego Castillo.

Houston — Seven free agents, including World Series champions Diego Castillo, have agreed to minor league contracts with the Texas Rangers that include invitations to spring training.

Castillo, along with two additional right-hand pitchers, Gerardo Carrillo and Jesus Tinoco, catcher Andrew Knapp, and outfielders Sandro Fabian, Elier Hernandez, and Derek Hill, were all signed by the Rangers on Wednesday.

Over six major league seasons with Tampa Bay (2018–21) and Seattle (2021-23), Castillo has a 24–18 record, 35 saves, and a 3.22 ERA. Opponents are only hitting.200 against him. The right-hander, who turns 30 on January 18, had eight bullpen appearances for the Mariners last season and gave up six earned runs in 8⅔ innings pitched.

Tinoco, who plays for the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization in Japan, has 38 appearances this season with a 2.93 ERA. His previous four big league seasons, with Colorado (2019–21), Miami (2021), and Texas (2022), saw him make 48 appearances. He made 17 appearances in the mound for the Rangers, and in one of his two starts, he gave up Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees’ 62nd home run, which broke the AL single-season record.

This season, Knapp, a 32-year-old switch-hitter, appeared in 93 Triple-A games for the Detroit and Houston teams. For Philadelphia (2017–21), Pittsburgh (2022), Seattle (2022), and San Francisco (2022), he has participated in 325 major league games.
On February 14, the Rangers’ pitchers and catchers will hold their first spring training session in Surprise, Arizona. The first full-squad practice is set for February 19.

Martin Maldonado, a catcher for the Chicago White Sox, has agreed to a one-year contract extension, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Yasmani Grandal, who left the White Sox via free agency after four seasons, is replaced behind the plate by 37-year-old Maldonado. Additionally, Maldonado reunites with former teammate Korey Lee, who was moved to Chicago last summer from the Houston Astros.

Lee is still developing into a major league backstop, so the two should share playing time. Maldonado has played in 1,118 games during a 13-year career that includes 65 postseason games. He has played in 36 games during that time.

Despite the fact that his personal game hasn’t improved, Maldonado provides leadership to a clubhouse that desperately needs it after the team lost 102 games the previous season. Despite hitting below.200 in each of the previous three seasons, Maldonado was well-liked for his game calling and pitching staff management during his tenure with the Astros. Since joining the Astros in 2018, Maldonado has allowed Houston to finish in the top 10 in the ERA every complete season. He played for three World Series teams, one of which won the championship in 2022.

The White Sox, meantime, are in the process of reassembling their pitching staff with the trade of three starters in July and the free agency departure of another, Mike Clevinger, this winter. Last season, they had an ERA of 26th place. Erick Fedde, a starter who earned the KBO’s version of the Cy Young Award last season, was just signed by the squad.

After Maldonado leaves, Lee will have the opportunity to take over as the long-term starter, therefore Maldonado’s job will be to coach Lee and demand more from the staff.

The New York Post broke the story of Maldonado’s deal with the White Sox first.