The Rangers have granted catcher Sandy León his release, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The veteran backstop requested to be let go after losing his spot on the MLB roster last week.
It’s a quick turnaround. León accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock over the weekend after clearing waivers. He didn’t make another appearance there before looking for other opportunities instead. That León just went unclaimed makes it seem unlikely he has another MLB job lined up, but perhaps he’s receiving interest from a club with a clearer path to playing time than would’ve been available in Arlington.
León, 34, started the season in Round Rock. Texas called him up just four games into the season. He played in 22 MLB games as a depth option, struggling to a .146/.186/.195 line while striking out in 20 of 44 plate appearances. The switch-hitter obviously hoped for better than that, but he has rarely been an offensive threat. Aside from a BABIP-driven 2016 campaign with the Red Sox, León has been a well below-average MLB hitter. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .168/.255/.245 mark in 431 plate appearances over four teams.
Despite the tepid offense, León has gotten plenty of opportunities on the strength of a strong defensive reputation. He’s well-regarded for his receiving skills and has thrown out a solid 29.5% of basestealers over the course of his career. He shouldn’t have any issues finding another minor league opportunity as a result.
Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Sam Huff comprise Texas’ 40-man catching group and are each on the major league roster. Neither Matt Whatley nor Miguel Ojeda Jr. — the two catchers on Round Rock’s active roster — has played in the majors. Grant suggests the Rangers could look for a veteran backstop willing to sign a non-roster deal to add some upper minors experience now that León is looking elsewhere.
That year Leon hit .310 was the oddest thing ever. As I recall he was hitting like .375 for a while and finally cooled down.
He must have felt like he was dreaming that whole year. then next year he woke up.
His batted balls that year were finding holes evident with his .392 Babip (career .271) and he has zero speed. Just go lucky.
Wonderful news!
I can’t wait u til they cut their losses and finally also release Martin Perez.
Highly doubtful that they dump him, but as of now they probably won’t be planning on re-signing him in the off-season.
No idea why the hate for Martin. He’s had 3 bad games and 10 pretty good ones. Not sure what more you could want from a back end guy.
I’d want 19 million back from him foe a back end guy.
Haha! Thats a QO for you.
Rangers are well covered with a trio of catchers in the majors (Heim, Garver, Huff) and a good receiver in Whatley at AAA who pitchers enjoy throwing to, from all accounts I’ve read. Jordan Procyshen appears to be a non-prospect, but has been an organizational guy that is currently on the developmental list (which teams will often stash guys on when they have a glut at a position). Not sure why the Rangers wouldn’t simply activate him if they feel Ojeda can’t handle AAA. Perhaps there is more to that story that we aren’t privy to.
They have many high BB guys in the minors, too.
The Blue Jays can now sign him to replace Anthony Bass in the bullpen. As a Marlins fan, I can tell you that I had more faith in Leone’s pitching than I did in Bass’.
Bass was pretty good last season.
Because Mattingly protected him last year in Miami. But then, as expected, Bass imploded when it counted the most.
I could see him coming back to Boston. Reese McGuire literally just left the game with some kind of injury.
As a coach, maybe.
Tucker Barnhart more than available from the Cubs.
Red Sox just lost Maguire to injury, and don’t have another catcher on the 40-man. Maybe Leon goes back to Boston to fill in for a spot.
I’m glad he’s gone. he sucks and never should have made a major league team. all this crap about a catcher who can’t hit but sticks in the majors because of defense is total BS. he’s a catcher and should be able to catch a ball. all the pitch framing is a bunch of nonsense. the umps know the strike zone and aren’t letting catchers influence them. if you can’t adequately hit you don’t belong in the majors. if you can’t adequately play defense you don’t belong in the majors.
has not hit since 2017….surprised he was still playing.
It’s the glasses. Only he can pull it off.
Unbelievable this many comments from an article about a 4th string catcher asking for his release.