Rangers Sign Jason Jennings

With Ben Sheets out of the picture because of elbow surgery, the Rangers turned to another NL starter to try and fix one of the gaping holes in their rotation, signing former Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings to a minor league deal late last night.

As might be expected, Troy Renck of the Denver Post broke the signing this morning, reporting that both the team and Jennings are looking at his spring training as a last possible window for his breakthrough. After some solid seasons in the mountains, Jennings saw his ERA balloon in Houston and Texas the past two seasons. How bad did it get? Try an 8.50 ERA and 0-5 record in an attempted comeback with the Rangers last year.

Both Jennings and the Rangers are chalking up that poor performance to lingering side effects from arm injuries, but there's no definite reason to believe he's past those injuries now, either. Why would Texas avoid any risk on a Sheets comeback while pumping money into a second attempt by Jennings? That's easy: It's all about the amount of money. Clearly, Sheets would have commanded multiple millions, likely for more than one year, in any kind of a deal. Jennings is willing to take a one-year deal to prove himself yet again. If he can -- and more importantly, if he's healthy -- Jennings could be a solid addition to the Texas rotation. If not, well, then it's just another stab at a starter that missed in the Lone Star state.