3:55pm: McKinney has elected free agency, per an announcement from the Rangers.
3:06pm: The Rangers have sent outfielder Billy McKinney outright to Triple-A Round Rock, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency but the log doesn’t indicate whether or not he will do so.
McKinney, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers at the end of May after being released from a minor league deal with the Mets. Texas added him to the roster but his stint in the majors was predictably brief. He was added to give the club an extra outfielder while Evan Carter was on the bereavement list. Carter returned three days later and McKinney was bumped back off the roster. As he’s out of options, McKinney had to be bumped off the 40-man, not just the active roster.
In that short window, McKinney got into two games and stepped to the plate eight times, recording one single, one walk and one strikeout. He now has a career batting line of .208/.283/.384 in 951 plate appearances dating back to his 2018 debut, with that production translating to a wRC+ of 79.
His minor league production this year was enticing but also nothing new for him. He slashed .295/.433/.487 for a 136 wRC+ in 24 games for the Express before being called up. Dating back to 2018, the year he first made it to the big leagues, he has a combined .259/.364/.471 line and 116 wRC+ on the farm. That had led to plenty of big league chances, with McKinney having spent time with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers, Athletics, Yankees again, Pirates and then the Rangers.
He hasn’t been able to translate his big league chances into much success, which has led to him exhausting his option years, thus propelling him into journeyman status. If he elects free agency this week, he can see what other opportunities are out there for him. If he decides to report to Round Rock, he could hope for big league playing time later in the year. An injury could pop up at any time and Adolis García is a plausible deadline trade candidate.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
You want me to get out, right?
He’s on the move again. The Long Island Ducks are calling you Billy
Mckinney is on pace to play for half the teams in the league at this point
McKinney is one of those players that will play like 4 games a year for the next 5-6 years as a filler.
Does well in AAA, sparse mlb chances. About to turn 31, I wonder if going to Japan, Korea would help him, also probably earn a bit more money
I have to throw respect for a player who is showing us that one can be in/out of league for 8 years in a row – and only collect 3 years worth of service time and still be eligible for ARB.
He teeters on the makings of a AAAA player because his stats on most years look pretty good in AAA. – I really would like to see him bust out and play on all 30 teams..
I, too, have elected free agency.
It’s time, join the Padres lol
Great opportunity for CLE to pretend to address RF for the umpteenth time in the past 20 years. He can’t do any worse than the bums they’ve trotted out there from time immemorial.
You should just keep this posted daily