Texas Rangers relief pitcher Luis Curvelo has cleared waivers and been outrighted to AAA Round Rock, the team has announced. As Curvelo has never been outrighted before, he does not have the option of rejecting the outright assignment, and thus will remain in the Rangers’ organization for the time being.
Curvelo, 25, was designated for assignment on August 14 so that the Rangers could add pitcher Marco Gonzales to the 40 man roster as part of adding Gonzales to the active roster. Gonzales was then designated for assignment a day later so that Jakob Junis could be activated from the 15 day injured list. That opened up a 40 man roster spot that I am guessing will be filled in the near future as a result of Jack Leiter being activated from the 60 day injured list.
Curvelo was originally signed out of Venezuela by the Seattle Mariners, and he pitched in their organization from 2018 through 2024. Curvelo became a minor league free agent after the 2024 season, and the Rangers opted to sign him to a major league deal that winter. After a somewhat promising 2025 season, where he put up a 3.76 ERA in 40 innings at Round Rock and a 5.68 ERA/4.66 FIP in 19 innings in the majors, he has regressed in 2026. In 10.1 innings over 9 games in the majors, he’s allowed 12 runs on 17 hits — including four homers — while walking seven and striking out six. Things haven’t been much better in AAA, as he’s allowed 27 runs in 25.2 innings for the Express this year, with 6 homers, 18 walks and 26 Ks.