The Rangers announced that they have signed right-hander Jharel Cotton, outfielder Jason Martin and righty Edubray Ramos (previously reported) to minor league contracts. All three deals come with invitations to spring training.
The 28-year-old Cotton was a top 100 prospect during his younger days, and he posted encouraging numbers (2.15 ERA/3.76 FIP) during his 29 1/3-major league debut with the Athletics in 2016. Cotton was then a regular in the A’s rotation the next season, in which he totaled 129 1/3 frames on 24 starts, but he could only muster a 5.58 ERA with a similar 5.68 FIP that year. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since then, owing largely to the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2018. Cotton tried to work his way back in 2019, but hamstring injuries helped prevent that from happening. Oakland then sent Cotton to the Cubs in a minor trade, though Chicago released him in September.
Martin entered the pros as a 2013 eighth-round pick of the Astros, who traded him to the Pirates five years later as part of the teams’ Gerrit Cole swap. But Martin didn’t produce much in two Triple-A seasons as a Pirate, and he slumped to a .200/.294/.244 line in the majors over a small sample of plate appearances (51) from 2019-20. The Pirates outrighted the 25-year-old after the season.