Rangers Take a Low-Risk Swing on Mason Thompson in Bullpen Rebuild

The Texas Rangers are continuing to piece together their bullpen puzzle, and their latest move adds another arm with big-league experience to the mix. Right-hander Mason Thompson has signed a minor league deal with the club and is expected to be in big league camp this spring.

Thompson, a Texas native and former third-round pick out of Round Rock High School, was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2016. After a brief stint in San Diego – just three innings in 2021 – he was flipped to the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline that same year in exchange for veteran reliever Daniel Hudson.

His time in D.C. was a bit of a rollercoaster. He posted a respectable 4.15 ERA in his first 21 1/3 innings with the Nationals in 2021, then followed that up with an even stronger 2.92 ERA over 24 2/3 innings in 2022. But things took a turn in 2023, when he logged 54 innings with a 5.50 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2024.

Thompson made it back to the mound last season, but the results were rough. He was hit hard in limited big-league action – 11.81 ERA over 10 2/3 innings – and didn’t fare much better in the minors, where he posted a 6.00 ERA across 16 innings. After the season, he became a free agent.

Still, there’s something here for the Rangers to work with.

Thompson leans heavily on a sinker-slider combo. The sinker averaged 95 mph last season, giving him the kind of velocity teams covet.

His slider sits in the mid-80s, and he’ll occasionally mix in a four-seamer in the mid-90s, a curveball in the low-80s, and a changeup that touches the high-80s. It’s a deep arsenal, and when he’s right, it’s enough to keep hitters off balance.

Now, let’s be real – his career 4.53 ERA and subpar strikeout (17.7%) and walk (10%) rates don’t jump off the page. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a couple of numbers that do: Thompson owns a 51.1% career ground-ball rate and a 37.0% hard-hit rate. That’s exactly the kind of profile that can play in a bullpen – especially one trying to stretch its dollars.

The Rangers aren’t in a position this offseason to chase high-priced, high-strikeout relievers. So instead, they’re looking for value in arms like Thompson – pitchers who can keep the ball on the ground and limit damage, even if they’re not racking up punchouts. It’s a smart, low-risk move for a club trying to reshape its relief corps without breaking the bank.

And they’ve been busy doing just that. Thompson joins a group of new additions that includes Jakob Junis, Alexis Díaz, Tyler Alexander, Ryan Brasier, and Michel Otañez.

The Rangers also brought back veteran righty Chris Martin on a major league deal and re-signed World Series standout Josh Sborz to a minor league pact. On top of that, they added righty Carter Baumler via a Rule 5 Draft trade.

There’s no guarantee Thompson will crack the Opening Day roster – he’ll have to outpitch several others in camp to earn a spot. But even if he starts the year at Triple-A Round Rock, he gives Texas another option in a bullpen that’s still very much in flux.

For a team trying to build a bullpen on a budget, this is exactly the kind of move that could quietly pay off down the line.