A continuing look at the Rangers 40-man roster.

JOE PALUMBO 
Age: 26
Left-Handed Pitcher 

The Rangers really want to see Joe Palumbo as a future arm in their rotation.

Palumbo isn’t obliging them.

Over two seasons, he’s been given four starts. He’s 0-3 with a 14.34 ERA. He’s had five appearances out of the pen. He’s 0-1 with a 3.24 ERA in that role. 

Texas selected Palumbo in the thirtieth round in the 2013 draft. He had worked his way up to Down East in Class-A-Advanced ball in 2017, and looked to be advancing strongly. After 13.2 innings and three starts, he’d struck out twenty-two hitters and posted a 0.66 ERA. 

Then the injuries took over. Tommy John surgery took away the rest of his 2017 and the first half of 2018. When he came back, he came back strong. In eleven starts, he put up a 2.78 ERA, with 59 strikeouts in 45.1 innings.

After more impressive numbers in Triple-A, he was promoted to the Rangers in June of 2019, where he has been anything but stellar. Mostly, he’s been hurt. He missed significant time in 2019 due to a blister and missed most of 2020 due to ulcerative colitis. 

But the Rangers are hoping he finds the success at the big-league level that he has found in the minor leagues. 

He will be a candidate for the Rangers rotation in 2021. He will have to pitch much better than he has in a Rangers uniform to get the nod. Expect him to yoyo between Triple-A and Arlington.