Kyle Funkerhouser is joining the Texas Rangers on a minor league deal, per multiple reports. The 28 year old righthander spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons in the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen, but missed all of 2022 due to a shoulder issue, and was non-tendered by the Tigers in November.
If Funkhouser’s name sounds familiar, he was someone who was at certain times discussed as a possible selection by the Texas Rangers at #4 in the 2015 MLB Draft after his junior year at Louisville. He ended up sliding to the Los Angeles Dodgers at #35 despite being projected as a mid-first round pick, and after turning down $1.75 million from L.A., returned to school for his senior year. He had a disappointing campaign, however, and ended up going to the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round in the 2016 draft.
