The Texas Rangers have acquired minor league left-handed pitcher Jimmy Robbins from the Toronto Blue Jays, as announced by Texas’ top affiliate in Round Rock. Since Robbins wasn’t part of the Toronto 40-man roster, he won’t take up a roster spot with Texas. In exchange, the Blue Jays received cash, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker.
Standing at 6’3″, Robbins has yet to make his debut in the majors. He was drafted by the Jays from a Florida junior college in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Although he hasn’t been ranked among Toronto’s top 30 prospects by Baseball America, Eric Longenhangen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs mentioned him as an honorable mention in their review of the Blue Jays’ farm system in 2023. They highlighted his slider and suggested he could become a situational left-handed option out of the bullpen.
Despite primarily being used as a starting pitcher throughout his career, Robbins’ control issues may lead to a transition to relief pitching. Last year in Double-A, he started 18 out of 22 appearances but struggled with command, walking nearly 14% of batters faced, resulting in a 4.67 ERA over 86 2/3 innings. Robbins has participated in big league Spring Training as a non-roster invitee for the past two years, appearing in four relief outings and allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings. In Triple-A this season, he has made two relief appearances, pitching 2 1/3 innings and conceding two runs.
The Rangers intend to assign Robbins to Triple-A, where he could be utilized as a starter or a multi-inning reliever. Meanwhile, they are promoting Jack Leiter from the Round Rock rotation for his MLB debut. However, the Rangers’ left-handed relief options suffered a setback when Brock Burke sustained a self-inflicted hand fracture over the weekend.
