Rangers add another veteran to left-field competition

Another veteran outfielder has agreed to a bargain-basement deal with the Texas Rangers, who signed Nate Schierholtz on Friday to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Schierholtz, who has played for four National League teams in his career, agreed to a deal similar to the one Ryan Ludwick signed Wednesday — a base salary of $1.75 million plus incentives.

Schierholtz joins Ludwick, Ryan Rua, Michael Choice and Jake Smolinski in a spring competition for playing time in left field, even though he has only 12 career games there and 458 starts in right field.

But as the only left-handed hitter in the group, Schierholtz could become a platoon partner with one of the other four in left. Forty-eight of his 52 career homers have come against right-handed pitchers.

Schierholtz, who turns 31 on Feb. 15, swatted a career-high 21 homers with Chicago in 2013, but he dipped to just seven homers with a .195 batting average last season with the Cubs and Washington.

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Rangers add another veteran to left-field competition."