The Texas Rangers are taking a flyer on a veteran left-hander, Austin Gomber, with a minor league deal! But is this a savvy depth move or a sign of underlying concerns for the Rangers' pitching staff? Let's dive in.
Austin Gomber, a 32-year-old southpaw, has officially inked a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. This deal comes with a coveted invitation to Major League Baseball Spring Training next month, giving him a chance to impress the coaching staff.
Gomber's journey in professional baseball began when he was a fourth-round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2014. He made his highly anticipated big league debut with the Cardinals in 2018. However, his tenure in St. Louis was relatively short-lived, as he was a key piece in the blockbuster trade that sent star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, with Gomber heading to the Colorado Rockies. For much of his MLB career, Gomber has called the thin air of Colorado home. At the time of that significant trade, Gomber showed promise as a capable "swing man" – a pitcher who can start games or come out of the bullpen – and there was optimism he could even solidify a spot in a contending rotation. In his time with St. Louis, he posted a respectable 3.72 ERA with a 3.89 FIP over 104 innings. The Rockies, in particular, were hoping he could develop into a reliable #4 starter, joining other promising arms like German Marquez and Kyle Freeland.
But here's where it gets complicated... Gomber's performance in Colorado yielded mixed results. In his debut season with the Rockies, he delivered a solid 4.53 ERA (a 106 ERA+), which is perfectly acceptable for a starting pitcher. However, the subsequent seasons, 2022 and '23, saw a noticeable dip in his effectiveness. While he managed to claw his way back to roughly league-average numbers in 2024, a significant factor in his struggles was a decline in his strikeout rate.
Let's break down the numbers: In 2021, Gomber struck out 23.2% of batters he faced while walking 8.4%. Over the next three seasons, he impressively reduced his walk rate to a tidy 6.3%. And this is the part most people miss: this improvement in control came at a steep cost to his ability to miss bats. From 2022 to '24, his strikeout rate plummeted to just 16.3%, a nearly seven-point drop from his 2021 performance. Furthermore, his ground ball rate, a key indicator of his ability to induce weak contact, also decreased from a strong 44.3% to a more ordinary 40.5%.
While Gomber had trouble recapturing the magic of his 2021 season, things truly unraveled in 2025. His strikeout rate cratered to a mere 12.5%, his ground ball rate fell to a concerning 33.2%, and his barrel rate – the percentage of batted balls that are hit with optimal launch angle and exit velocity – reached an alarming 14.5%. This disastrous stretch saw Gomber get hit hard across 12 starts for the Rockies, surrendering a staggering 7.49 ERA with a 6.50 FIP over 57 2/3 innings. This performance was so dire that the Rockies released him in August. He then signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs for the remainder of the season and showed flashes of his old self in Triple-A Iowa, posting an impressive 0.47 ERA in 19 innings across four outings.
This late-season resurgence in a new environment offers a glimmer of hope. However, given his struggles at the big league level in 2025, it was always unlikely he'd secure anything more than a minor league contract. Now, that contract is with the Rangers, and Gomber is expected to provide much-needed depth to a rotation that, on paper, looks formidable. The potential rotation, featuring names like MacKenzie Gore, Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter, and Kumar Rocker, is certainly exciting. However, the significant injury risks associated with Eovaldi and deGrom, and Rocker's unproven status as a consistent MLB regular, highlight the importance of adding arms like Gomber.
This spring, Gomber will likely be in contention with Kumar Rocker and fellow swing man Jacob Latz for the fifth and final spot in the Rangers' rotation. While Gomber might be the underdog in this particular camp battle, he appears to be in a solid position to enter the season with a legitimate chance to crack the rotation. This opportunity could arise either by outperforming his competitors or, unfortunately, through an injury to another pitcher creating an opening.
Now, here's the part that sparks debate: With Gomber's recent struggles, particularly his plummeting strikeout and ground ball rates, is this a calculated gamble by the Rangers to bolster their depth, or are they overlooking the warning signs from his 2025 season? What are your thoughts on this signing? Do you think Gomber can recapture his past form and be a valuable contributor for the Rangers, or is this more of a low-risk, low-reward signing? Let us know in the comments below!
