Danny Duffy signs minor league deal with Rangers

Danny Duffy’s year and a half with the Dodgers is officially over without him throwing a pitch. The veteran left-hander signed a minor league contract with the Rangers on Friday which includes a non-roster invitation to big league camp in spring training.

The Dodgers acquired Duffy from the Royals before the trade deadline in July 2021 while he was on the injured list with a flexor tendon injury. He did not recover in time to pitch that year, then had surgery that October to repair the problem.

Last March, after the lockout ended, the Dodgers re-signed Duffy to a $3-million deal, with the hope he’d be able to pitch in the second half of the season. Instead, his minor league rehab assignment didn’t start until August 20, and after seven short outings in the Arizona Complex League, Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, and Triple-A Oklahoma City, Duffy’s season was over in September. He remained on the 60-day injured list all season.

On November 8, the Dodgers declined Duffy’s $7-million club option for 2023.

When he last pitched, Duffy was having a great season for Kansas City in 2021, with a 2.51 ERA, 4.21 xERA and 3.40 FIP in 13 games, including 12 starts, with 65 strikeouts and 22 walks in 61 innings. Duffy turned 34 in December.

Also signing with the Rangers was Reyes Moronta, who had a 4.18 ERA and 5.10 FIP in 22 relief appearances last year with the Dodgers. The right-hander was designated for assignment in August then claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks, with whom he pitched 17 more games down the stretch.

Moronta, like Duffy, will be a non-roster invitee in Rangers camp in Surprise, Arizona.