Rangers' Spencer Howard: Named fifth starter

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Saturday that Howard will be the team's fifth starter, Levi Weaver and Lindsey Adler of The Athletic report.

Howard had better spring performances than fellow young hurlers A.J. Alexy and Glenn Otto, and the Rangers apparently settled on Kolby Allard as a reliever. The 25-year-old Howard had a combined 7.43 ERA in 2021 for Philadelphia and Texas (9.70 in eight starts with the Rangers), so there's risk involved.