Yang Hyeon-jong removed from Rangers' active roster, MLB future in limbo

▲ In this Associated Press file photo from Aug. 28, 2021, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Houston Astros during the top of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Houston Astros in the top of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Getty Images file photo from June 8, 2021, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers speaks to media during batting practice at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Getty Images file photo from May 30, 2021, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. (Yonhap)

MLB-pitcher

Yang Hyeon-jong removed from Rangers' active roster, MLB future in limbo

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong has been designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers, a move that puts the left-hander's future in the majors in limbo with less than a month left in the season.

The Rangers made the transaction before hosting the Houston Astros in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday (local time). The decision came one day after Yang was sent to the Triple-A Round Rock Express to make room for players coming off the injured list. This time, the Rangers added outfielder Willie Calhoun to their active roster at Yang's expense.

When a player is designated for assignment, or DFA'd in baseball parlance, he is immediately removed from the 40-man roster and from the 25-man active roster if on it. The player can be traded or placed on irrevocable waivers within seven days. And if no other team picks that player from waivers, then the player may be sent outright to the minors or released.

Yang was also DFA'd in June, and he accepted an assignment to the minors after clearing waivers at the time.

The 33-year-old is 0-3 with a 5.60 ERA in 12 appearances, including four starts. Yang has an identical win-loss record and ERA in Triple-A this year.

Yang has been yo-yoed between the majors and Triple-A multiple times this season, his first in the United States after 14 mostly successful campaigns with the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

Yang signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in February but failed to break camp with the big league team and instead started the season in the minors.

Yang received his first callup in April and pitched in his first big league game on April 26.

He was sent to Triple-A in June and was brought back up on Aug. 24. Yang made one relief outing four days later and then was shipped back to the minors again on Aug. 31.

But as the active rosters across the majors expanded from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1, the Rangers called up Yang. The club also had a few players sidelined following positive COVID-19 tests.

Yang, though, wasn't able to seize the opportunity. In three relief appearances during his latest big league stint, Yang gave up four runs on nine hits, including two home runs, in 4 1/3 innings.

After getting DFA'd for the first time in June, Yang insisted he wasn't returning to the KBO yet, and he would continue to pursue his big league dreams.

With the regular season winding down and Yang not having proven himself as a viable big league pitcher, it appears unlikely that he will be picked off waivers. Yang then can accept his assignment to Triple-A, just as he did so in June, or can decide to come home this time.

Yang was both the regular season and the Korean Series MVP in the KBO in 2017, and was one of the most consistent starters here for the better part of the last decade.

Yang first tried to reach the majors in 2014 through the posting process, and the Rangers put in a bid for the pitcher during the silent auction. The Tigers pulled him back from the market, and Yang would pitch six more years in the KBO.

In those six seasons, Yang led all KBO pitchers with 85 wins, 10 complete games, 925 strikeouts and 1,119 1/3 innings pitched.

In 2020, Yang was 11-10 with a 4.70 ERA, his worst mark as a full-time starter. But Yang also threw 172 1/3 innings, his seventh consecutive season of at least 170 innings pitched.

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