The Rangers are recalling infielder Davis Wendzel from Triple-A Round Rock to give them some infield cover. Corey Seager is day-to-day after leaving Wednesday’s game with hamstring soreness. In a corresponding move, outfielder Derek Hill will be designated for assignment. Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today relayed the moves on X. The team’s 40-man roster tally drops to 39.
Hill is out of options, so Texas couldn’t send him back to Triple-A without the DFA. It’s an unfortunate situation for the speedster, who gets squeezed out by the need for another infielder. Hill signed a minor league contract over the offseason and was selected onto the MLB roster at the end of May. He appeared in five games, including a pair of starts in right field. Hill went 2-9 with a walk and a stolen base in what marked his fifth year logging MLB time.
A first-round pick of the Tigers in 2014, Hill played sporadically with Detroit. He combined for a .240/.291/.339 line in 95 games over parts of three seasons. Hill made a brief appearance with the Nationals a year ago, appearing in 13 games between late June and the early part of July. He’s a plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. He has never provided much in the batter’s box against MLB pitching though.
To his credit, the 28-year-old has been a productive Triple-A hitter. Hill owns a .295/.354/.502 slash in nearly 900 trips at the top minor league level. That includes a robust .333/.387/.659 showing over 142 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. Hill’s 6.3% walk percentage and near-25% strikeout rate were pedestrian, but he connected on eight homers, four triples and 10 doubles (albeit in a hitter-friendly setting).
The Rangers will have a few days to gauge possible trade interest. It’s likelier he’ll land on outright waivers by next week. Hill has cleared waivers a couple times in his career and would have the ability to elect free agency if he does so again.
Texas evidently doesn’t anticipate placing Seager on the injured list, at least for the moment. He is out of the lineup tonight against the Giants. Josh Smith moves over to shortstop while Ezequiel Duran handles third base against Logan Webb and the Giants.
This is not about the Reds. Again!!
Texas Bias.
Thank God, I only read Texas Rangers news because I don’t care fantasy team!!!
What about that reds post an hour ago? I guess we only see what we want to see.
He’ll catch on with a contender. He’s got all the speed, and does enough at the plate. Would really like to see what he could do with 500 AB’s over a whole season.
Another high school hitter first round draft pick by the Tigers who can’t cut it in the big leagues….reason # 1 why they should not have drafted Max Clark over Wyatt Langford last year
Not every prospect is going to mash 30 bombs and hit .300… Langford certainly isn’t this year.
Clark’s defense and discipline at the plate are major league ready and he can be a nice piece of a winning lineup that gets its slugging from other spots.
Yankees could use Smith or Duran now to replace Torres
It’s too early to compare Clark and Langford and who “should have” been picked. They are not the same type of player either. Clark is a speedy top of the order tablesetter who is good on defence. Langford is a middle of the order masher. Hopefully they both do well and have long careers.
Drafting Clark enabled them to also draft & sign McGonigle
And a few others like Wilson, Hamm and Cernowyk who all look like decent prospects.
I feel like he’s a slow learner and if he had enough MLB at bats along with a good coach, he would be a serviceable hitter. Yes, he got his chance in Detroit, but I just feel like they screwed him up.
Great defence but sometimes that hit tool just never develops at the MLB level. Hopefully he catches on somewhere and finds his niche.
It does take time for most guys to get acclimated. See Kyle Tucker, Astros.