The Rangers have signed right-hander Nabil Crismatt to a minor league deal, El Extrabase’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes reports. Crismatt’s contract includes an invitation to the Rangers’ big league Spring Training camp.
It’s a late birthday gift for Crismatt, who turned 31 on Christmas Day. This is Crismatt’s second stint in the Texas organization, as he spent a month of the 2024 season pitching with Triple-A Round Rock before being released from that minor league deal without any time in the bigs. The brief run in Round Rock was one of many stops Crismatt has made on a variety of minors contracts over the last three seasons, as he is out of minor league options.
After amassing 20 MLB innings with the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers over the 2023-24 seasons, the righty got a bit more of a run in the Show by tossing 34 innings for the D’Backs in 2025. Brought up to the active roster in mid-August, Crismatt posted a 3.71 ERA, 5.9% walk rate, and 16.3% strikeout rate during this return to the D’Backs.
While not standout numbers, Crismatt’s performance bore some resemblance to his prime years as a member of the Padres relief corps. Crismatt delivered a 3.39 ERA, 21.6% strikeout rate, and 7.3% walk rate over 148 2/3 innings out of San Diego’s pen in 2021-22, but a decline in his performance in 2023 led the Padres to part ways, and began Crismatt’s nomadic trip around the league.
The bullpen was an underrated strong point for Texas in 2025, yet several of the relievers (i.e. Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Phil Maton) who performed so well last year have already left the team in free agency. This has left the Rangers working to restock the relief cupboard with a new set of pitchers on short-term contracts. Chris Martin, Alexis Diaz, and Tyler Alexander have all signed guaranteed deals, and Crismatt now joins the list of pitchers in camp as non-roster invites. Crismatt figures to have a good opportunity at breaking camp with the team, but his out-of-options status could leave him prone to again being the odd man out of a roster crunch.