Pennington's wild ride continues in Texas

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- On July 30, Walter Pennington was supposed to fly from St. Paul, Minn., to Rochester, N.Y., with the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate.

Instead, Pennington found himself alone on a flight to Round Rock after he was included in a one-for-one swap between the Rangers and Royals that sent Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City.

“I woke up that morning expecting to be on the team flight, and I got a call from our manager, and he's like, ‘I got bad news for you: You've been traded,”’ Pennington said. “I said, ‘Oh, boy. OK; here we go.’ I'm glad I didn’t have to go to Rochester, though. … This is another continuation of a dream. The dream was always to make it to the big leagues. I debuted in Colorado [his home state], which was something special, and to have another opportunity here with the Rangers, it's incredible.”

Without making an appearance with Triple-A Round Rock, Pennington was called up on Friday after right shoulder fatigue landed Max Scherzer on the injured list.

The left-handed Pennington made his Texas debut in a relief appearance on Sunday against the Red Sox and surrendered a three-run home run to Wilyer Abreu in the sixth inning after entering the game with runners on. Pennington ultimately tossed one inning, allowing one run of his own with three walks.

Pennington was optioned shortly afterward to make room for Tyler Mahle on the active roster. That’s no worry, though. Pennington’s value lies more in the future than the present.

“We felt like we're getting a reliever in Walter who has had a lot of success at Triple-A. We really like him,” general manager Chris Young said the day of the trade. “He's a carry-forward piece into 2025 and beyond. Building our bullpen next year is going to be critically important to our success next year. So the opportunity to acquire someone who can help us now and in the future was really important to us.”

Pennington’s journey has been a long and interesting one.

He went undrafted out of high school and college, where he earned a mechanical engineering degree at the Colorado School of Mines. There, he posted a 24-10 record over 51 appearances (30 starts), including six complete games, three saves and one shutout.

Pennington then made a pit stop in Independent ball, where he pitched for the Colorado Cyclones in the National Baseball Congress World Series. The Royals liked what they saw, and signed Pennington as an undrafted free agent following the COVID-shortened 2020 Draft.

The left-hander, who did not open the season on the Royals’ Top 30 prospects list per MLB Pipeline, made his MLB debut on July 6 against the Rockies, tossing two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit or a run.

It was his only glimpse of big league action this year with Kansas City, as he’s spent most of the season with Triple-A Omaha, where he’s posted a 2.26 ERA in 59 2/3 innings across 37 games (two starts). He’s averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to pitch in Colorado for my debut,” Pennington said. “I wish I could have stayed with the team, but I knew that the Royals are trying to make a playoff push. I guess it's a business decision, but I was just thankful for the opportunity to be there.”

Though he’s not currently with the Rangers’ big league club, he figures to be an important piece, both this season and down the line.

“There's always moments where it's a badge of honor that you can make it to the next level and to have this opportunity, and just to know I've earned it, in some sense,” Pennington said. “I hope that the Rangers can trust me to be a good bullpen arm for them.”