Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last several seasons (2017 will be the 10th season I’ve kept track of this), and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them with links at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2017.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2017: 51
Total pitchers used in 2017: 31
Total position players used in 2017: 21 (one position player pitched)
Total players making major league debut: 7

• #51 – Willie Calhoun – 9/12
• #50 – Yohander Mendez – 9/4
• #49 – Miguel Gonzalez – 9/2
• #48 – A.J. Jimenez – 9/1, replaces Joely Rodriguez (DFA)
• #47 – Will Middlebrooks – 9/1, replaces Jhan Martinez (DFA)
• #46 – Paolo Espino – 9/1, recalled from AAA
• #45 – Jake Diekman – 9/1, replaces Dario Alvarez (DFA)
• #44 – Nick Gardewine – 8/21, replaces Matt Bush (placed on DL)
• #43 – Phil Gosselin – 8/19, replaces Carlos Gomez (placed on DL)
• #42 – Tyler Smith – 8/9, replaces Nick Martinez (optioned to AAA)
• #41 – Ricardo Rodríguez – 8/8, replaces Keone Kela (placed on DL)
• #40 – Clayton Blackburn – 7/31, replaces Jeremy Jeffress (traded to MIL)
• #39 – Jason Grilli – 7/3, replaces Dario Alvarez (optioned to AAA)
• #38 – Preston Claiborne – 6/22, replaces Jeremy Jeffress (10 day DL)
• #37 – Tanner Scheppers – 6/19, replaces Jared Hoying (optioned to AAA)
• #36 – Ernesto Frieri – 6/17, replaces Andrew Cashner (10 day DL)
• #35 – Tyson Ross – 6/16, replaces Dillon Gee (DFA)
• #34 – Adrian Beltre – 5/29, replaces Drew Robinson (optioned to AAA)
• #33 – Dillon Gee – 5/27, replaces AJ Griffin (10 day DL)
• #32 – Jared Hoying – 5/16, replaces Carlos Gomez (10 day DL)
• #31 – Austin Biben-Dirkx – 5/7, replaces Dario Alvarez (optioned to AAA)
• #30 – Pete Kozma – 5/1, replaces Jurickson Profar (optioned to AAA)
• #29 – Anthony Bass – 4/20, replaces Mike Hauschild (DFA)
• #28 – Keone Kela – 4/17, replaces Sam Dyson (10 day DL)
• #27 – Andrew Cashner – 4/15, replaces Nick Martinez (optioned to AAA)
• #26 – Nick Martinez – 4/12, replaces Drew Robinson (optioned to AAA)

#25 to #1 (no particular order): Dario Alvarez, Tony Barnette, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, Yu Darvish, Sam Dyson, A.J. Griffin, Cole Hamels, Mike Hauschild, Jeremy Jeffress, Jose Leclerc, Martin Perez, Robinson Chirinos, Jonathan Lucroy, Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo, Mike Napoli, Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar, Drew Robinson, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Carlos Gomez, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Rua.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• The number of position players and pitchers doesn’t sync up, because Brett Nicholas (backup catcher) pitched on July 26, 2017.
• Of the opening day 25 man roster, two players are making their Rangers AND major league debuts (Hauschild, Robinson)
• Previous years counts for major league debuts.. 2016 (1, Barnette), 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (1, Seth Rosin), 2013 (2, Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (2, Darvish & Ross), 2011 (1, Mason Tobin), none in 2010, 2009 (1, Elvis Andrus), and 2008 (1, Kaz Fukumori).
• 9 guys are on an Opening Day roster for the first time: Alvarez, Bush, Claudio, Gallo, Hauschild, Leclerc, Mazara, Profar, Robinson.

Old Versions of this Page:

[ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 ]

Congrats to Pudge, who was elected to the Hall of fame today.  He goes in with Jeff Bagwell & Tim Raines (plus Bud Selig & John Schuerholz).

Two catchers have reached the Hall of Fame on 1st ballot: Johnny Bench and Pudge Rodriguez.

Pudge is now the youngest member of the Hall of Fame.

No word as to what cap he will wear yet. We as Rangers fans expect it to be a Rangers cap, but the official word isn’t out yet. However, Pudge had this to say about the matter:

Only the HOF is “official”, but that post is darned close.

Here’s a couple of videos of him taking the call at home.

I have no words, best call ever! A dream that came true today! So thankful! Thank you thank you God bless you all #Pudge7HOF pic.twitter.com/Od0bNONZjv

— Ivan Pudge Rodriguez (@Pudge_Rodriguez) January 18, 2017

Gracias, Gracias, gracias, muchas gracias, es tan grande la emoción.... bendiciones a todos #Pudge7HOF pic.twitter.com/gGjTNJMFD4

— Ivan Pudge Rodriguez (@Pudge_Rodriguez) January 18, 2017

I saw Pudge play almost all of his career in Texas, including the back half of the 2009 season when he returned via trade.  Was an awesome player to watch, and steroids charges be damned.  I’m glad to see him going in.  Only the second catcher ever (Bench) to go in on the first ballot.   While I can’t make it to the ceremony, I’ll definitely be watching it.

And finally, some tweets from his teams congratulating him.

The Yankees did not congratulate him on his induction, but he was only a Yankee for about eight weeks.  The Astros didn’t, either – but then they had their own guy go in today, so that’s understandable.

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last seven seasons, and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them here:

[ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 ]

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2016.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2016: 52
Total pitchers used in 2016: 28 (29*)
Total position players used in 2016: 23
Total players making major league debut: 6

• #52 – Tanner Scheppers (9/6, September callup)
• #51 – Yohander Mendez (9/2, September callup)
• #50 – Carlos Gomez (8/25, replaces Drew Stubbs, who was designated for assignment)
• #49 – Jeremy Jeffress (8/3, replaces Hanser Alberto, who was optioned to AAA)
• #48 – Carlos Beltran (8/2, replaces Joey Gallo, who was optioned to AAA)
• #47 – Jonathan Lucroy (8/2, replaces Bobby Wilson, who was designated for assignment)
• #46 – Lucas Harrell (7/29, replaces Shawn Tolleson, who was optioned to AAA)
• #45 – Dario Alvarez (7/28, replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #44 – Kyle Lohse (7/9 – replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AA)
• #43 – Jose LeClerc (7/5 – replaces Michael Roth, who was designated for assignment)
• #42 – Michael Roth (7/3 – replaces Luke Jackson, who was optioned to AA)
• #41 – Chi Chi Gonzalez (6/27 – replaces Alex Cludio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #40 – Yu Darvish (5/28 – replaces Joey Gallo, who was optioned to AAA)
• #39 – Jurickson Profar (5/27 – replaces Shawn Tolleson who was placed on Family Medical Leave)
• #38 – Joey Gallo (5/23, replaces Drew Stubbs, who was placed on the DL)
• #37 – Jared Hoying (5/23, replaces Shin Soo-Choo, who was placed on DL)
• #36 – Luke Jackson (5/16, replaces Tom Wilhelsen, who was optioned to AAA)
• #35 – Matt Bush (5/13, replaces Delino DeShields Jr, who was optioned to AAA)
• #34 – Drew Stubbs (5/8, replaces Alex Claudio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #33 – Anthony Ranaudo (5/6, replaces Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #32 – Bobby Wilson (5/4, replaces Brett Nicholas, who was optioned to AAA)
• #31 – Cesar Ramos (4/25, replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #30 – Nick Martinez (4/16, replaces Andrew Faulkner, who was optioned to AAA)
• #29 – Alex Claudio (4/13, replaces Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #28 – Nomar Mazara (4/10, replaces Shin-Soo Choo who was placed on the DL)
• #27 – Brett Nicholas (4/10, replaces Robinson Chirinos who was placed on DL)
• #26 – A.J. Griffin (4/8, replaces Justin Ruggiano who was designated for assignment)

#25 to #1: Tony Barnette, Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson, Andrew Faulkner, Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Keone Kela, Phil Klein, Colby Lewis, Martin Perez, Shawn Tolleson, Tom Wilhelmsen, Robinson Chirinos, Bryan Holaday, Hanser Alberto, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Ian Desmond, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Rougned Odor, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Ryan Rua, Justin Ruggiano.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• * Bryan Holaday pitched in a game on Jul 2, and Jared Hoying pitched in a game on Jul 7.  The Rangers don’t  count position players pitching as a “pitcher used”.
• Of the opening day 25 man roster, six are making their Rangers debuts (Barnette, Faulkner, Wilhelmsen, Holaday, Desmond, Ruggiano) and only one of THOSE is making a major league debut (Barnette)
• Previous years counts for major league debuts.. 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (Seth Rosin), 2013 (Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (Darvish & Ross), one in 2011 (Mason Tobin), none in 2010, one in 2009 (Elvis Andrus), and one in 2008 (Kaz Fukumori).

I have a Twitter account for this website, but it’s pretty disused since I stopped doing daily game updates a couple of seasons ago.  Still, I use Twitter A LOT.  Both personally and professionally.   Tonight I started a list of “Texas Rangers  News” accounts.   It’s basically anyone who is Texas Rangers specific (or really close to it), all together in one feed.

If you use Twitter, feel free to subscribe to the list.   It is available here:  https://twitter.com/JoeSiegler/lists/texas-rangers-news/

The people I have on there as I said are folks who run pretty much all Rangers news.  I’m not putting everyone who covers Rangrers news there.  Two examples are TV people like Newy Scruggs and Anthony Andro.   My logic for Scruggs is that he’s obligated to cover tons of things, and while he does occasionally post about the Rangers, he’s more a “generic Sports news” account.   Same goes for Anthony Andro.  He used to be only Rangers, but after he switched gears to FSSW a couple of years ago, he posts about everything.

I think I’ve covered all the big ones (and a couple you might not have thought of).   If you can think of someone I don’t have on here, and who you think SHOULD be, please, by all means.  Let me know who you think I should add.

NOTE: I have a Dallas Morning News feed on here because they have a Twitter specific Rangers feed.  The Ft Worth Star Telegram doesn’t have one, but I followed their Rangers beat writers, too.

You can view a live version of the tweet in this news post below.  :)