The Texas Rangers have signed free agent righthanded pitcher Anthony David Maui La’akea “Bubba” Hoopii-Tuionetoa to a minor league deal, per the MLB.com transactions page.

So, this is kind of fun news. Hoopii-Tuionetoa was a 30th round pick of the 2019 draft out of Pierce College by the Rangers, and worked his way up the organizational ladder as a reliever. A month into the 2024 season, having allowed one unearned run in 10 appearances at AA Frisco, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Robbie Grossman.

Things got weird after that. Hoopii-Tuionetoa performed okay at AA for the ChiSox before being promoted to AAA for the final month of the season, where he got gave up 13 runs in 8.2 IP over 9 appearances. He then pitched in eight games in the Arizona Fall League in 2024.

That ended

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