The Texas Rangers have purchased the contract of righthanded pitcher Nolan Kingham, the team announced today. There was an open 40 man roster spot, so no move in that regard was necessary. To clear a spot on the active roster, the Rangers have optioned reliever Luis Curvelo to AAA Round Rock. In addition, lefthanded pitcher Dalton Pence has been promoted from AA Frisco to AAA Round Rock and is starting tonight.
Kingham, who turns 30 later this month, is a righthanded pitcher originally from Nevada who was a 12th round pick of the Atlanta Braves out of the University of Texas in 2018. He was released by the Braves after the 2023 season and pitched in Indy ball and in the Dominican and Mexican winter leagues before being signed by the Rangers out of Monterrey in the Mexican League earlier this season. He has a 6.99 ERA in 10 starts and a relief appearance covering 46.1 innings for Round Rock.
Like Marco Gonzales, who was also brought up despite an astronomical AAA ERA, Kingham is here to be a warm body in the bullpen to be used for length in case of emergency. He last pitched on the 28th and threw 78 pitches over five innings, allowing one run while striking out nine in what is easily his best outing of the season. I would assume he will be designated for assignment when Chris Martin is ready to be activated, which is very possibly tomorrow.
Curvelo goes back down to AAA after being up to be the in case of emergency innings sponge. He threw over 50 pitches in two innings yesterday and wouldn’t be available to pitch again until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest so he’s the guy who gets bumped.
Finally, I wanted to mention that lefthander Dalton Pence is starting for Round Rock tonight. Pence, an 11th rounder in 2024 out of the University of North Carolina, started the 2026 season in Hub City, earning a promotion to AA after five starts with a 2.59 ERA. He has put up a 2.77 ERA in 55.1 innings over 11 appearances for the Roughriders, with 61 Ks against 23 walks.
My initial reaction was that the Pence promotion is being made as a one-off to cover tonight’s start, and he’ll be back in Frisco next week. However, he has handled both high-A and AA well this season, and so its possible that this is more than a one-shot deal for Pence. He’s also going to be throwing to the newly-acquired Logan O’Hoppe behind the plate, another reason to be following the goings-on down there today.
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