The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has signed right-handed pitcher Justin Anderson to a two-year minor league contract and catcher Drew Butera to a one-year minor league contract. Both players have received invitations to the Rangers’ 2021 Major League Spring Training camp.
The 28-year-old Anderson did not pitch for the Angels in 2020 after undergoing ‘Tommy John’ ligament replacement surgery performed by Rangers Team Physician Dr. Keith Meister on July 22. He suffered the elbow injury while pitching in a July 10 intrasquad game during Summer Camp. Anderson was not tendered a contract offer by Los Angeles prior to the December 2 deadline, making him a free agent.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander has made 111 career relief appearances for the Angels from 2018-19, going 6-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 5 saves while averaging 11.2 strikeouts per 9 innings. A Texas native, Anderson was selected by the Angels in the 14th round of the 2014 June draft out of the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a graduate of St. Pius X High School in Houston.
Butera, 37, spent the entire 2020 campaign on the Colorado Rockies active roster, appearing in 28 games with 12 starts behind the plate. He started the second game ever at Globe Life Field against the Rangers on July 25 and finished the year with a .154 batting average along with 2 doubles and 4 RBI.
Butera is one of just 11 catchers to have Major League time in each of the last 11 seasons beginning 2010, as he has seen action in 541 MLB games with Minnesota (2010-13), Los Angeles-NL (2013-14), Los Angeles-AL (2015), Kansas City (2015-18), and Colorado (2018-20). He caught no-hitters for the Dodgers’ Josh Beckett (May 25, 2014 at Philadelphia) and the Twins’ Francisco Liriano (May 3, 2011 at Chicago-AL), and caught the final out of the Royals’ 2015 World Series championship against the Mets. He was teammates with new Rangers General Manager Chris Young on that Royals team, which also included current Texas bench coach Don Wakamatsu.