Folty in the fold.


Some of the talk show hosts on MLB Radio have a running gag. Whenever they want to say the F-word, in order to keep it clean, they substitute Foltynewicz instead.

“What in the Foltynewicz was Kevin Cash thinking about pulling Blake Snell in Game 6?”

“Why in the Foltynewicz is Angel Hernandez a major league manager?”

It started out as a way to hide the Braves frustration with a guy they thought would be their ace but more often than not wasn’t.

And now, it  appears the Foltynewicz Texas Rangers have a new Foltynewicz pitcher.

A deal that has been kicking around for about a week was finally announced. The Rangers have signed right handed starter Mike Foltynewicz to a one-year contract for $2 million, with more in incentives.

Drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of 2010 draft, Foltynewicz made his major league debut with Houston in 2014, and was traded the following offseason to Atlanta for Evan Gattis. 

He had an up and down 2015, literally being called up and down from Triple-A to the Braves on a number of occasions, came down with pneumonia, then later with blood clots in his pitching arm, resulting in having a rib removed. 

After a long recovery, he made it back to the Braves mid-2016, only to have a bone spur in his elbow. 

Healthy, and in the Braves rotation in 2017, Foltynewicz went 10-13 with an ERA of 4.79. And in 2018, after altering his delivery, he made the National League All-Star team, and started Game 1 of the playoffs for the Braves. He ended 2018 with a 13-10 record and a 2.35 ERA. It looked like Folty had finally turned the corner.

But there was a brick wall on the other side. He came into the season expecting to be the Braves ace of their staff but hurt his elbow in spring and never got right, surprisingly being sent down in mid-season. He finished 2019, with a 4.54 ERA in twenty-one starts, and started just one game in 2020, giving up six runs in three innings, prompting the Braves to release him.

Now he is a Ranger. A former All-Star starter looking to rehabilitate his career. Might as well give him a shot. 

What the Foltynewicz do the Rangers have to lose? Except some baseball games.