Arlington, Texas ¡ª The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has signed free agent right-handed pitcher Luke Jackson (#77) to a one-year contract covering the 2025 season. To make room for Jackson on the 40-man roster, the club has placed right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz on the 60-day Injured List (right shoulder surgery recovery).
Jackson, 33, returns to his original club, as he was selected by the Rangers in the first round (45th overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft and saw his first big league action with Texas in 2015-16. He combined to go 4-3 with a 5.09 ERA over 52 appearances with San Francisco and Atlanta in 2024, averaging 10.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. Jackson pitched to a 2.19 ERA (3 ER/12.1 IP) over his final 12 outings with the Braves spanning August and September last year.
The right-hander logged a team-high 18 saves with Atlanta in 2019 and was part of the bullpen for the 2021 World Series champion Braves team, when he posted 3.2 shutout innings in the Fall Classic against the Astros. Jackson missed the entire 2022 season after having ¡®Tommy John¡¯ ligament replacement surgery that April.
Jackson made his MLB debut with Texas on September 4, 2015 at Los Angeles-AL and combined to make 15 appearances for the Rangers in 2015-16. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native has a 22-11 record with 19 saves and a 4.24 ERA while averaging 9.7 strikeouts per 9 innings over a nine-year MLB career with Texas (2015-16), Atlanta (2017-22, 2024), and San Francisco (2023-24).
Sborz, 31, underwent right shoulder surgery in November after going 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA (7 ER/16.1 IP) over 17 relief appearances for Texas in 2024. The right-hander is 13-13 with a 4.96 ERA in 154 games/one start in his Major League career with Los Angeles-NL (2019-20) and Texas (2021-24).
With today¡¯s moves, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club¡¯s Major League roster.