Former Texas Rangers Prospect Signs with the Los Angeles 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
