ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers acquired left-handed reliever Robert Garcia from the Washington Nationals in a trade Sunday for past Gold Glove and Silver Slugger first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
Garcia had 75 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 59 2/3 innings over 72 appearances for the Nationals last season.
Texas is parting with Lowe after acquiring slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from Miami for three minor league players during the winter meetings less than two weeks ago.
Lowe hit .265 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs this year for the Rangers, and ranked sixth in the American League with 71 walks. He hit .302 in 2022, then was a Gold Glove winner during the team's World Series championship season in 2023.
The Nationals were in need of a first baseman and a middle-of-the-order bat, and this deal represents general manager Mike Rizzo’s first acquisition this offseason of a hitter with a track record.
Rizzo's only other significant signing this offseason was free-agent pitcher Michael Soroka to a $9 million contract for 2025.
Washington is coming off a 71-91 record, its fifth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series. No players remain from that year’s club.
The Rangers were World Series champions in 2023, but missed the playoffs this year.
Lowe, 29, is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this offseason after making $7.5 million this year. He is a .272 career hitter in 686 career games since his big league debut in 2019 with Tampa Bay, which traded him to Texas four years ago.
The 28-year-old Garcia is under team control through the 2029 season.
Garcia has 97 career appearances, all over the last two seasons, and all but one of those games for the Nationals. He pitched in one game for Miami in 2023 before getting selected off waivers by Washington.
Texas acquired Garcia two days after signing free agent lefty reliever Hoby Milner to a $2.5 million, one-year contract. The sidearm thrower, who turns 34 next month, grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area watching the Rangers and still lives there.
The Rangers also during the winter meetings signed 31-year-old right-hander Jacob Webb to a $1.25 million contract. He set career highs with Baltimore last season with 56 2/3 innings pitched and 58 strikeouts while going 2-5 with two saves and a 3.02 ERA in 60 appearances. He is 12-10 with six saves and a 2.98 ERA in 192 career games.
AP National Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe watches a pitch during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sept. 11, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE - Washington Nationals relief pitcher Robert Garcia (61) in action during a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Aug. 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tennessee defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons sat at his locker Sunday afternoon and took offense to the playful attitudes around him following a fourth consecutive loss.
He didn't think it was the time or place for such light-heartedness, and the two-time Pro Bowler wasted no time expressing his exasperation to the reporters gathering around him.
"At this point, and I said this a couple weeks ago, it’s like, ‘What are we really playing for? We’re building for next year,’” Simmons said after a 38-30 loss to division rival Indianapolis. "If I see guys who want to quit, I don’t want to be their teammate.”
For a franchise that started this season with such promise — a new coach, a young quarterback with a seemingly bright future and a defense that has held up its end of the bargain most of the season — things seem to be unraveling rapidly.
And it's become increasingly frustrating to Simmons and others.
Tennessee (3-12) has now lost six of seven and has allowed two of its past four opponents to rush for 200 or more yards. On Sunday, Jonathan Taylor handled the Titans for 218 yards and three scores on 29 carries as the Colts rushed for 335 records, breaking a team record that was set in 1956.
How bad was it? The Titans allowed their highest rushing total since the franchise moved from Houston to Tennessee, and Simmons found nothing funny about it.
“Every week when we turn on the tape, it’s the same (thing),” Simmons said. "Guys are out of position, they’re not where they should be, the instincts aren’t there. Stopping the run is not hard. But it does take all 11 guys. It’s not just the defensive line. That’s where it starts, but it just feels like the pieces aren’t fitting right.”
Simmons emphasized that last point more than once, and he knows it will be exposed again on the latest film.
Taylor went virtually untouched on a 65-yard sprint down the right side of the field to give Indy a 14-7 lead in the first half.
Then, after making halftime adjustments, the Titans returned to the field and on the first play watched Taylor sprint 70 yards down the left side of the field to make it 31-7. His third TD run, a 1-yard plunge midway through the third quarter put Tennessee in a 38-7 hole.
“Just look at the tape, there's no secret,” said rookie defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, who left the game midway through the first quarter when he was inadvertently poked in the right eye by Taylor.
Sweat returned later in the half.
But the problems didn't go away.
Tennessee committed three more turnovers to the league-high 29 it had entering the game, which was a primary reason first-year coach Brian Callahan benched Will Levis and started Mason Rudolph.
Rudolph threw for 252 yards and two scores, but his interception late in the first half allowed Indy to extend a 17-7 lead to 24-7 at the half. His final interception, as time expired, sealed the outcome.
“We need to play cleaner,” Callahan said. "The down-to-down consistency just isn’t there. We put ourselves in a hole early but it’s been an issue all year. It showed up again.”
In between the errant throws, Taylor and Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson ran wild — something Simmons found so upsetting, he spoke out.
"It’s frustrating as hell, 3-12? I didn’t expect this,” he said. "Coming out of camp, I felt like we had a great camp. At this point, we have to figure out what we’re fighting for. Every guy in the locker room, every coach, needs to ask themselves what we’re playing for.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Indianapolis Colts running back Trey Sermon (27) runs the ball past Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray (51) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (1) scores a touchdown past Tennessee Titans cornerback Daryl Worley (35) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) runs the ball past Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) and linebacker Otis Reese IV (41) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, second from right, runs for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (29) and linebacker Arden Key (49) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
