The Rangers announced today that they’ve claimed first baseman Andy Wilkins off waivers from the Mariners. Wilkins was designated for assignment last week when the club acquired Adam Lind from the Brewers.
Wilkins, 27, has bounced around the league quite a bit since making his big league debut with the White Sox in 2014. The former fifth-rounder hit just .140/.178/.186 in a minuscule sample of 45 plate appearances with the South Siders in ’14. This season, he was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays, who would eventually trade him to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The Dodgers lost Wilkins to the Orioles on waivers in early September, who then lost him to Seattle in November. With this claim by the Rangers, he’s now with his fifth organization in the past calendar year.
Wilkins hits left-handed, so he doesn’t fit the Rangers’ oft-stated desire to add a right-handed bat. He does create some depth at first base, however, with his lifetime .274/.324/.490 batting line at Triple-A serving as an appealing track record for Texas (and, clearly, other clubs around the league). The Rangers’ 40-man roster now has 38 players, per a club press release.
Since theres no way possible to keep him on the 40 man roster for long and will likely be claimed again. Whats the point?
To see if they can sneak him through waivers. If he does, then good. But if he is claimed by another team, then oh well. No harm in trying.
Poor guy. This is his 6th organization since March.