SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Rangers, who have no definitive closer, made official the signing of lefty reliever Jalen Beeks to a one-year deal on Friday, then designated for assignment the pitcher in camp with the most closing experience.
To make room for Beeks on the 40-man roster, the Rangers designated Alexis Diaz for assignment. While it was clear Diaz was not going to make the opening day roster after a recent outing in which he failed to retire any of the five batters he faced, the decision to DFA him came as something of a surprise.
Diaz, 29, has minor league options remaining, meaning the club could have just sent him to the minors and kept him on the 40-man roster. The Rangers have no desire to release Diaz, manager Skip Schumaker said. The team would like to keep him in the system and outright him to Triple-A Round Rock to continue to work.
He would have to clear waivers first before the club could do that. Given Diaz’s subpar performance in 2025 and his struggles with command this spring, it seems unlikely a team would put in a claim for him and guarantee him the $1 million the Rangers committed to him. Diaz could refuse the assignment, but he’d forfeit the money and likely be forced to sign a minor league contract elsewhere for less than the major league minimum.
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Beeks, 32, gives the Rangers another lefty with neutral splits against right-handers and left-handers who could be used as a middle-innings pitcher. He pitched more than an inning nine times last year and had 13 occasions in which he pitched back-to-back days. He had a 3.77 ERA in 57 innings last year with Arizona, after making the club on a minor league contract.
Like so many mid-30s lefty relievers, he’d hoped his performance had guaranteed him a major league deal, but none came over the winter.
“I think I deserved a deal, but I get it,” Beeks said. “I know this is business and GMs have to do their job. I’m just thankful that we got something done. I signed a minor league deal last year, and it worked out great. So, I wasn’t worried. I’m not frustrated. I get that this is how this goes. I’ve been lucky enough to be around long enough to understand that this is how it goes, and there’s absolutely no hard feelings, no frustrations.”
Beeks had spent the winter at home in Fayetteville, Ark., working out at Arkansas’ baseball facilities and throwing to high school, college and some professional hitters. Until spring training and college baseball season began. Then, it was mostly high-schoolers.
As the Rangers began to grow more concerned about the bullpen, he threw recently for Rangers’ GM Ross Fenstermaker in Fayetteville ahead of agreeing to the deal.
“I think when I threw a bullpen for them and pretty much showed that I’ve been treating it like spring training in February,” Beeks said. “I pretended like I was in spring training the whole time throwing lives and things like that, plenty of bullpens. And I think it showed I was in a good spot.”
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