Rangers Claim Kolton Ingram

The Rangers have claimed left-handed reliever Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Mets, per a team announcement. The Rangers’ 40-man roster is now at capacity. Ingram was designated for assignment when the Mets selected Tomas Nido’s contract in the wake of Francisco Alvarez’s thumb injury. Ingram has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock for now.

Ingram, 27, made his big league debut with the Angels in 2023 but totaled just 5 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits and five walks in that tiny sample but did fan seven of his 30 opponents. He’s had far more success in the upper minors, logging 102 1/3 innings of 2.46 ERA ball in Double-A and 38 2/3 innings of 3.72 ERA ball in Triple-A. Broadly speaking, Ingram has shown a knack for missing bats throughout his career — evidenced by a sharp 30% strikeout rate in the minors. However, he’s also battled command issues, walking 11.1% of his opponents in addition to another 14 plunked batters (1.6%).

Primarily a fastball/slider pitcher, Ingram sits 92-93 mph with his heater and has proven to be a consistent headache for left-handed opponents. They mustered an awful .151/.245/.186 slash against him in 2023 and hit just .141/.243/.219 against him the year prior. Righties have had more success but primarily due to his sub-par command. Right-handed opponents still hit in the low .200s against Ingram, but they’ve walked at a 12.5% clip against him over the past several seasons.

With Brock Burke on the injured list, the Rangers’ lone lefty in the bullpen at the moment is rookie Jacob Latz. He’s been generally effective through 11 1/3 innings, recording a 3.97 ERA with a below-average 21.6% strikeout rate but a strong 7.6% walk rate. Antoine Kelly had been the only other left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster for Texas, however, so Ingram will give them another candidate to join the big league ’pen if the club wants to carry a second southpaw or in the event of an injury to Latz. Ingram is in the second of three option years, so he can freely be shuttled between Arlington and Round Rock both this year and next (if he sticks with the organization).