ARLINGTON — We’ll let right-handed pitcher Ben Peoples summarize his last week. 

“Crazy,” Peoples said Thursday afternoon. “I feel like I’ve been all over the place these last few days, but it’s been all exciting, and all good things.”

The Rangers acquired Peoples in a trade with the Chicago White Sox two days ago, and before Thursday’s series opener vs. the Detroit Tigers, selected his contract. The 25-year-old spent the last season-and-a-half at the Triple-A level but has yet to make his major league debut, and because the Rangers are in a pinch, he could now potentially do so for a bullpen-needy team. 

Peoples had a 2.39 ERA in 37 2/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte before he was traded. His fastball ran in the mid-to-upper 90s, held opponents to a .216 batting average and helped anchor his best professional season yet. The former 22nd-round draft pick had worked as a starter in his first five professional seasons but converted full-time to the bullpen last year.

“He’s got a really good fastball,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “That’s the main thing. His fastball-slider combination is real. He gets righties out and we think he’s going to get righties out at a good clip. It’s a mid-90s fastball with a really good slider.”

The Rangers optioned right-handed pitcher Winston Santos to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move. Santos, the team’s fifth-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, spent the last week on the big league roster and finally debuted in Wednesday’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians. He will continue to stretch out as a starter in the minor leagues.

“He’s not a finished product by any means, but the stuff is real,” Schumaker said. “I think he learned a lot just in that short outing that he had. We need to build him up as a starter. He’s going to go to Round Rock, we’re going to build him up as a starter, keep doing that. I don’t want him to sit out in the bullpen and not pitch.”

The Rangers also signed infielder Santiago Espinal and right-handed pitcher Austin Voth to minor league contracts before Thursday’s game.