Jared Walsh among 3 players to sign minor league deals with World Series champion Texas Rangers

Updated Jan. 25, 2024 9:15 p.m. ET

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Former All-Star slugger Jared Walsh and utility infielder Matt Duffy have signed minor league contracts with the Texas Rangers that include invitations to big league spring training.

The defending World Series champions also announced a similar deal Thursday with left-hander Blake Taylor.

Walsh was an All-Star in 2021, when he set career highs with 29 homers and 98 RBIs as a first baseman for the Angels. The left-handed hitter played only 39 games with Los Angeles last year after starting the season on the injured list because of debilitating symptoms that led to headaches and insomnia.

He elected free agency after the Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster in October.

Texas listed Walsh as an outfielder, though only 28 of his 313 starts over the past five seasons with the Angels came in the outfield.

Duffy appeared in 78 games last season for Kansas City, his fifth big league team. He debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 2014 and helped them win their third title in a five-season span under manager Bruce Bochy, who is going into his second season with the Rangers after leading them to their first championship.

Taylor made 92 relief appearances for the Houston Astros from 2020-22, but was released by the organization last August after pitching in 35 games for Triple-A Sugar Land.

The Rangers now have 24 non-roster invitees set to go to spring training in Arizona next month.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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