Former Rangers Prospect Signs With Dodgers

A former Texas Rangers Top 30 prospect signed a Major League deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Ricky Vanasco singed a one-year deal with the Dodgers, so he’ll get a full Spring Training invite and the chance to make the 26-man Opening Day roster.

The Rangers drafted Vanasco out of high school in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB Draft and gave him a $200,000 signing bonus. His best minor league season was in 2019 when he had 1.81 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings in the lower levels of the Rangers organization. But Tommy John surgery put his career to a halt at the end of 2020.

He resumed pitching in 2022 and the Rangers thought enough to move Vanasco onto their 40-man roster last offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

In 2022, he went 3-5 with a 4.68 ERA. He made 23 starts, giving up 52 walks and striking out 118.

He started last season in the Rangers minor-league system and missed time with an injury. He finally made his season debut with Double-A Frisco, where he pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up 10 runs (six earned).

The Rangers designated him for assignment on May 29 and traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 1 for left-handed pitcher Luis Valdez.

The Dodgers also DFA’ed Vanasco on June 30, but after he passed through waivers without a claim, he re-signed with the club on a minor-league deal and was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, followed by a direct assignment to Double-A Tulsa.

The Dodgers moved him into a relief role and he was 1-4 with a 1.24 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 25 appearances between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.