The Rangers made a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener in Oakland. Texas selected veteran infielder Matt Duffy onto the roster and recalled outfielder/infielder Dustin Harris for what’ll be his big league debut. The Rangers also activated reliever Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas placed third baseman Josh Jung on the 10-day IL, optioned lefty reliever Walter Pennington and put utilityman Ezequiel Duran on the paternity list. Tyler Mahle moved from the 15-day to the 60-day IL in a procedural move to open a 40-man roster spot for Duffy. Texas had already shut Mahle down on account of shoulder soreness.
The 33-year-old Duffy gets a brief opportunity to return to the majors. Duffy has been in Triple-A since signing a minor league deal in Spring Training. The veteran infielder hasn’t produced much offensively, turning in a .218/.296/.280 slash across 216 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League. Texas was out of healthy infielders on the 40-man roster, though, so they’ll give Duffy a shot to play in the big leagues for a ninth season. He’ll back up Marcus Semien, Josh Smith and Jonathan Ornelas for the final six games of the year. Duffy will be a free agent at the start of the offseason and will be in line for another minor league contract somewhere.
Harris, 25, has a bit of third base experience himself. He has started 12 games there with Triple-A Round Rock this season. He’s primarily an outfielder, logging more than 900 frames between left and center field. The left-handed hitter carries a .272/.358/.391 slash with 10 longballs across 564 trips to the plate. That’s minimal power production for the hitter-friendly PCL, but Harris has stolen 35 bases and has strong plate discipline numbers over his minor league career.
Texas added Harris to their 40-man roster over the 2022-23 offseason. They’ve remained intrigued enough by his physical tools to keep him on the roster even while he was on optional assignment in the minors. Baseball America ranked Harris as the #11 prospect in the system on its midseason update. He could make his MLB debut against the organization that drafted him. Harris was an 11th-round pick by the A’s in 2019. Oakland traded him to the Rangers the following summer in a deadline deal for lefty Mike Minor.
Jung’s season comes to a close because of right wrist discomfort. The All-Star third baseman broke his wrist on a hit-by-pitch in the first week of the season. He underwent surgery that sidelined him until the end of July. Jung hasn’t played up to his 2023 level since returning and he’ll finish the year with a .264/.298/.421 slash in 46 games. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wrote this week that Jung will visit a specialist on Thursday to determine the source of his ongoing discomfort. He’ll hope for a mostly healthy offseason.
RoastGobot
Rip scooter
RoastGobot
Skeeter
Non Roster Invitee
Bochy knows Duffy from his Giants days. Never fails.
imissjoebuzas
And Bochy decided to give his friend a little more than a cup of coffee, maybe as a sayonara for Duffy who really didn’t do much at AAA to deserve the call up. Call it a pot of coffee. Then let Duffy ride off into the sunset.
If that turns out to be the case for the 33 year old Duffy, I’d say that’s a classy move by Bochy.
TigersLoveCinnamon
Totally thought he was done playing. Itching at nostalgia when the giants were actually good
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
I was about to comment on congratulating Danny Duffy for making it back but when I checked his stats I was sent to Matt 🙁
8======D (Carl Winslow)
Have you checked Danny Duffy’s stats? Both of them are terrible.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
A 110 era+ isn’t horrible especially for a starter
8======D (Carl Winslow)
A 5.50 era in AAA 18 innings 17/17 k/bb and a whip over 1.7 is horrible though. And he’s no starter anymore.
SFBay314
RIP Skeeter
#foreverGiant
mrperkins
Could be very important for Duffy. If he gets in a game this year and 1 game next year (or after that) then isn’t he eligible for the full 10 year pension?
mlb fan
“Full 10 year pension”…Matt Duffy currently has 8.059 yrs of MLB service time. Unfortunately, he is still well short of the necessary 10 yrs to reach fully vested under the current collectively bargained CBA.
Old York
Revised headline:
Exciting New Beginnings: Rangers Welcome Matt Duffy and Celebrate Dustin Harris’s Big League Debut as Team Prepares for Final Showdown!
tomgrievewasgm
Ummmmm lol
Clofreesz
At least Duff-man has a chance to play. Intrigued by Dustin Harris, though.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Matt Duffy still plays? Good for him.