Richards cleared waivers and was released by the Rangers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Richards was designated for assignment by Texas last week and is now on the open market. The veteran right-hander has a 5.27 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 36:13 K:BB across 42.2 innings this season, and he's likely to generate some interest in free agency.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Booted off 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Rangers designated Richards for assignment Wednesday.
Texas elected to cut bait with Richards after he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in 11 innings over his most recent seven appearances out of the bullpen. The 34-year-old right-hander will have the ability to decline an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock if he clears waivers, so it's possible his time in the Rangers organization is over. That being said, Richards may struggle to catch on elsewhere in the majors again in 2022 after he turned in a 5.27 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 36:13 K:BB across 42.2 innings with Texas.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Rescues Rangers with save
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Richards earned the save against the Athletics on Wednesday, retiring the only batter he faced on one pitch.
Jon Gray and Matt Bush combined for eight scoreless frames for Texas, and Jose Leclerc was brought in to mop up a five-run ninth-inning lead. Leclerc couldn't accomplish the task, however, serving up a pair of homers and allowing the tying run to come to the plate with two outs. Richards was subsequently summoned from the bullpen, and he got Stephen Vogt to fly out to end the threat. The save was Richards' first of the season and sixth in his 12-year big-league career. Brett Martin is the favorite for saves for Texas at the moment, though Richards has pitched well enough of late to earn more high-leverage opportunities -- over his past four games, he has two holds in addition to the save.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Takes loss as opener
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Richards (0-1) took the loss Friday as the Rangers fell to Atlanta 6-3, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning of work.
Getting the nod as the opener, Richards served up a two-run shot to Austin Riley, and Texas was never able to climb out of the early hole. The 33-year-old righty has had a shaky start to the season that includes a 16.2 percent walk rate in nine innings, and Richards should remain in a low-leverage role until he begins to turn things around.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Serving as opener Friday
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Richards will serve as the opener ahead of primary pitcher Spencer Howard during Friday's game against Atlanta, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
Richards has struck out seven in seven scoreless innings over his last five appearances, and he'll work as an opener for the second time in his last three outings. He pitched two innings as an opener against the Athletics on Sunday and figures to have a similar workload Friday.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Effective as opener
Rotowire
Richards struck out one in two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk in a 2-0 loss Sunday in Oakland. He did not factor into the decision.
Richards allowed consecutive singles to start the game and worked his way out of trouble with a flyout and a double-play ball. In the second, he pitched around a two-out walk. The veteran is no stranger to starting but Sunday's appearance was planned as an opener with Spencer Howard receiving the bulk of the innings. After allowing two runs in his first appearance, the righty has pitched five consecutive scoreless frames.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Serving as opener
Rotowire
Richards will be the opener for Sunday's game against Oakland.
Being the first pitcher on the mound should be no problem for Richards, who's started 150 major-league games. He won't pitch very deep in this one, however, as he's topped out at one inning in his four relief appearances this season. Spencer Howard (finger) is expected to follow him out of the bullpen.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Off IR, works immediately
Rotowire
Richards allowed two runs on two hits and two walks over one inning in Thursday's 10-5 win over the Angels.
Richards, who began the season on the injured list with a blister, was activated Thursday and put immediately to work in a low-stress situation. He allowed a two-run home run to Max Stassi. Richards is expected to be a multi-inning reliever and has the potential to move into the rotation at some point, having made 150 career starts.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Activated from injured list
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Richards (finger) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Thursday.
Richards began the regular season on the injured list, but he made a rehab appearance at Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks while striking out one in one inning. He should serve mainly as a low-leverage reliever for the Rangers now that he's back to full health.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Ready for rehab assignment
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Richards (finger) is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.
Richards opened the season on the 10-day injured list with a blister on one of his fingers, so he's not expected to require more than one rehab appearance before being deemed ready to return from the shelf. If all goes well during Tuesday's outing, Richards will likely rejoin the Rangers and slot into the bullpen for the team's four-game series with the Angels that begins Thursday.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Out with blister
Rotowire
Richards will begin the season on the 10-day injured list due to a blister on his pitching hand, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The injury isn't expected to require more than a minimum-length absence. The transaction can be backdated to three days before the start of the regular season, leaving Richards eligible to return April 14.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Prepping as reliever
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Richards will serve as a multi-inning relief pitcher for Texas, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Relief was Richards' presumed role after the Rangers signed him last week, but his history as a starter left the door open for that role. Manager Chris Woodward put an end to that speculation Sunday. "He's a multi-inning guy," Woodward said. "Definitely a reliever. One thing we didn't want to do and he didn't want to do is kind of go back and forth -- starter, reliever, starter, reliever through the season. He just wants to be strictly one way and then obviously our need was really in the relief role." The right-hander performed in both roles for Boston last season, but he thrived as a reliever, posting a 3.42 ERA in 18 appearances while allowing just one home run over 26.1 innings.
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Rangers' Garrett Richards: Joining Rangers
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Richards agreed to a contract with the Rangers on Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Richards spent the 2021 season with Boston, but he was demoted to the bullpen after posting a 5.22 ERA across 110.1 innings as a starter. Preliminarily, Grant reports that Richards is expected to serve as a multi-inning reliever with Texas, though it's also possible that he shifts into the rotation given the team's lack of proven starters. Richards posted a respectable 4.03 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 51.1 frames in the shortened 2020 season, so his last productive campaign is fairly recent.
The Red Sox declined Richards' $10 million team option for 2022, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
They will buy him out for $1.5 million, and he will become a free agent. The 33-year-old righty logged a 4.87 ERA in 136.2 innings and has not posted an ERA under 4.00 since 2018.
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Red Sox's Garrett Richards: Not yet throwing
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Manager Alex Cora said Saturday that Richards (hamstring) hasn't resumed throwing, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Richards is eligible to return for the World Series after he was removed from Boston's ALDS roster with a hamstring injury. However, whether he's medically cleared to pitch remains to be seen. If the Red Sox advance to the World Series, Game 1 is scheduled for Oct. 26.
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Red Sox's Garrett Richards: Remains out for ALCS
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Richards (hamstring) remains off the roster for the ALCS, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Richards was ineligible to return after being removed from the Red Sox's ALDS roster with a strained left hamstring. He'll be allowed to return for the World Series if his teammates advance without him, but whether or not he'll be healthy enough to do so is not yet clear.
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Red Sox's Garrett Richards: Removed from ALDS roster
Rotowire
Richards has been removed from Boston's ALDS roster due to a left hamstring strain.
Richards tossed a third of an inning in Thursday's Game 1 loss but apparently sustained a hamstring injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the series. Right-hander Matt Barnes will take his place on the ALDS roster. Richards will be ineligible to appear in the ALCS if the Red Sox advance but will be eligible to return if Boston makes it to the World Series.
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Red Sox's Garrett Richards: Takes loss in relief Sunday
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Richards (7-8) was tagged with the loss in relief Sunday against the Yankees after allowing two runs on one hit and two walks across 1.1 innings, fanning one.
Richards entered the game in the seventh inning and while he tossed a scoreless frame, the wheels came off in the eighth -- he allowed back-to-back walks to Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu, and a double from Anthony Rizzo gave the Yankees runners on second and third with one out. Richards departed the game afterwards, but both came around to score on a two-RBI double from Aaron Judge and that would give the Yankees a lead they'd never relinquish the rest of the way. Richards has now given up runs in back-to-back outings, but he still owns a 2.77 ERA across nine appearances this month (13 innings).
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Red Sox's Garrett Richards: Earns third save
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Richards struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning and earned a save over the Orioles on Sunday.
Richards needed just eight pitches to quickly roll through the Orioles and finish off the 8-6 victory. Since being moved to the bullpen, the 33-year-old righty has given up just two earned runs through 20.2 innings (0.87 ERA) with a 25:8 K:BB. He lowered his season ERA to 4.53 through 131 frames.
