Austin Gomber: Everything you need to know

The Rangers reassigned Gomber to minor-league camp Wednesday. The Rangers closed out spring training with the top four members of the rotation all in optimal health, and with Kumar Rocker pitching well enough to beat out Jacob Latz for the fifth and final spot, Gomber never made much of a run at securing a starting role while he attended camp as a non-roster invitee. Gomber will serve as organization pitching depth for the Rangers this season and will likely slot into the rotation at Round Rock.

Gomber allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two over 4.1 innings in Saturday's spring start against the Reds. Gomber's been a forgotten arm during spring training since he signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers in January. The competition for a spot in Texas' rotation has been focused on Jacob Latz and Kumar Rocker, but Gomber's name should be added to the calculus. Saturday's outing was his second Cactus League start and upped his pitch count to 73 (47 strikes).

Gomber agreed Sunday with the Rangers on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to big-league spring training, Aram Leighton of JustBaseball.com reports. Though Texas recently bolstered its pitching staff with the acquisition of MacKenzie Gore, Gomber could still get the chance to compete for a back-end rotation spot this spring. Before being cut loose by the Rockies last August, Gomber turned in a 7.49 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and 34:17 K:BB in 57.2 innings, but he was slightly more effective in his six starts away from Coors Field (6.44 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 29.1 innings). Gomber also closed the season strong while spending the final month of the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs organization, and the Rangers may be banking on the 32-year-old lefty's pitch-to-contact approach yielding more success in Arlington than in the unforgiving confines of Colorado.