Rangers GM: Acquiring Wilhelmsen bolsters strong bullpen
The Texas Rangers already had one of the hardest-throwing bullpens in the majors last season, and acquiring Tom Wilhelmsen only adds to their firepower.
After shipping underachieving center fielder Leonys Martin to the Seattle Mariners on Monday as part of a five-player deal in exchange for Wilhelmsen, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels believes the team's relief pitching will be even more of an asset in 2016.
"The whole bullpen sets up as a strength for us," Daniels told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. "It's a far cry from where we were a year ago.
"We have a guy in (Shawn) Tolleson who had a good year for us, we have a guy like Tom who has been there, and we have a couple other guys who have the capability of pitching in the ninth."
Wilhelmsen, who spent five seasons with the Mariners from 2011-15, owns a 2.97 ERA over 312 1/3 career innings.
His four-seam fastball averaged just over 95 mph last season, making him an obvious fit in a bullpen that already houses powerful pitchers such as left-hander Jake Diekman and righty Sam Dyson.
"We are getting a guy we have seen up close and personal for a number of years," Daniels said. "It's a unique story, but he has been one of the better back-end bullpen guys in the game.
"He gives us some depth in a power bullpen. We really like how that sets up."