Rangers Release Blaine Crim To Pursue Opportunity In Asia
9:33pm: Daniel Kim reports that Crim is nearing an agreement with the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization.
8:10pm: The Rangers have placed first baseman Blaine Crim on release waivers, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports that the 29-year-old intends to sign with a team in Asia. He’ll be a free agent once he clears waivers, and the Rangers will presumably receive a nominal fee from the signing team in Japan or Korea.
Crim had been on the 40-man roster, so the count drops to 39. He hasn’t played in MLB this year, spending the season on optional assignment in the Colorado and Texas systems. Crim has a combined .265/.341/.453 batting line with 10 home runs through 252 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League. That’s below average production in a hitter-friendly setting.
A former 19th-round draft choice, Crim has a lifetime .280/.369/.479 slash in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances. He has very brief big league experience, playing in 20 games and hitting .200 with five home runs last year. Crim has spent the majority of his career in the Texas system. The Rangers lost him via waivers to the Rockies last August but claimed him back last month.
Rangers Claim Blaine Crim
The Rangers announced that first baseman Blaine Crim has been claimed off waivers from the Rockies. Crim has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, and right-hander Carter Baumler was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot.
A 19th-round pick for the Rangers in the 2019 draft, Crim spent his first six pro seasons in the Texas organization, and he made his Major League debut in a Rangers uniform in 2025. Crim was designated for assignment at last year’s trade deadline in the aftermath of the deal that brought Merrill Kelly to Arlington, and the Rockies then claimed Crim away on waivers. Crim’s 2025 campaign ended with a .200/.270/.462 slash line and five home runs over 74 plate appearances and 20 combined games with Texas and Colorado.
This remains Crim’s full MLB resume, as he began the season on the Rockies’ 10-day IL while recovering from an oblique strain and was then optioned to Triple-A after being activated. Colorado designated Crim for assignment earlier this week, and the 28-year-old now finds himself in the familiar environs of Round Rock.
Crim has spent parts of the last five seasons at the Triple-A level, and he hit .281/.370/.479 with 70 home runs over 1882 PA at the top rung of the minor league ladder. These impressive numbers come with the caveat that Crim’s entire Triple-A career has been spent in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and for his minor league career as a whole, Crim’s wRC+ is a relatively modest 113. Crim’s path to consistent MLB playing time has also been hampered by the fact that he has become a first base-only player in recent years, after getting some limited action as a third baseman and corner outfielder earlier in this minor league days.
From the Rangers’ perspective, Crim is a known quantity of a depth option. He is also in the second of his three minor league option years, giving Texas some flexibility in sending him back and forth from Triple-A if a need arises.
Baumler was a selection in this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft, as the Pirates took him out of the Orioles’ organization and then dealt the right-hander to Texas. Baumler posted a 3.18 ERA despite recording as many walks as strikeouts (six apiece) over 5 2/3 relief innings over four appearances, which represented his first taste of Major League action. A right intercostal strain sent him to the 15-day IL in early April, and it has now been almost a month since Baumler’s minor league rehab assignment was halted due to an injury setback.
The move to the 60-day IL now ensures that Baumler can’t return to the Rangers’ active roster until the first week of June at the earliest, and it’ll likely be a lot longer than that considering that his throwing progression may have to be restarted from scratch. The Rule 5 regulations require Baumler to be on Texas’ active roster for at least 90 days this season, and if not, the Rangers will again have to keep him on their 26-man for all of the 2027 campaign in order to officially secure his right from Baltimore.
Rockies Designate Blaine Crim For Assignment
The Rockies announced Wednesday that first baseman Blaine Crim has been designated for assignment. His 40-man roster spot goes to veteran righty Keegan Thompson, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. Colorado placed right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik on the 15-day injured list due to ulnar nerve inflammation in his right arm.
Crim joined the Rockies last August when they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers. He went on to rip five homers in only 15 games and 61 plate appearances, though his .295 on-base percentage and huge 36% strikeout rate both tamped down reason for optimism. This season’s .265/.339/.449 slash in Triple-A looks solid at first glance, but in the ultra-hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, it’s about 13% worse than league-average (by measure of wRC+).
The 29-year-old Crim has played in parts of five Triple-A seasons, slashing a combined .281/.370/.479 in 1882 trips to the plate. It’s about 11% better than average, and Crim has turned in encouraging strikeout and walk rates of 18.4% and 11.5%, respectively, along the way. Crim, however, has well below-average speed (21st percentile in 2025, per Statcast) and is limited to first base and designated hitter. He’s been passed over in multiple Rule 5 Drafts and has now been designated for assignment twice in the past eight months, so it seems many big league clubs are skeptical of his ability to carry that production over to the majors.
The Rockies might have had an opening for Crim at first base this year, but offseason acquisitions of TJ Rumfield (from the Yankees for reliever Angel Chivilli) and Edouard Julien (from the Twins for prospect Jace Kaminska) pushed him down the depth chart.
Crim’s solid track record in the upper minors could potentially hold appeal to other clubs in need of some right-handed punch and/or help at first base/designated hitter. He’s in the second of three minor league option years, so a new club wouldn’t need to carry him on the major league roster right away. He’ll be traded or placed on waivers within the next five days, and we’ll know the outcome of his DFA within a week’s time.
The 31-year-old Thompson, another waiver claim (from the Reds), cleared waivers earlier this season but now joins the big league roster after a nice run in Albuquerque. He’s appeared in 11 games, five of them starts, and posted a 3.34 ERA in 32 1/3 innings. He’s only struck out 13.1% of his opponents, which is a concern, but his 7.1% walk rate is strong and his 43.6% ground-ball rate is a hair north of average.
Thompson has pitched in four big league seasons, all with the Cubs. He owns a career 3.64 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate in 227 2/3 major league innings. He’s sitting 92.2 mph on his four-seamer this season, down from his 93.9 peak as a rookie in 2021.
Thompson adds some length to a Rockies bullpen that could use extra innings. Starters Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner are both on the injured list, which has pushed Tanner Gordon, at least in effect. Gordon hasn’t started a game but has worked behind an opener his past couple times out. He’s sitting on a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 frames this season, however. Looking up and down the rest of Colorado’s rotation, Tomoyuki Sugano is the only starter who’s averaged even five innings per start. Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Kyle Freeland are all averaging about 4 2/3 frames per trip the mound, underscoring the need for a reliever like Thompson who can work several innings at a time.
As for the 26-year-old Vodnik, he started the season well, yielding only two runs in his first nine innings. He’s been rocked over the past month, however. In his past 10 appearances, he’s totaled only nine innings and been shelled for 14 runs on 15 hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts. The flamethrowing righty has been far better in the past couple seasons, logging 124 1/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball.
Vodnik doesn’t miss as many bats as one might expect for a reliever who averages nearly 99 mph on his heater, but he’s a clearly talented righty who’s been in the Rox’ late-inning mix since 2024. If a trip to the injured list helps him right the ship, he’ll likely factor back into the closer committee alongside Antonio Senzatela and Juan Mejia.
Rockies Outright Keegan Thompson
5:12pm: Thompson has already cleared waivers and is indeed accepting the outright assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Although Colorado announced the DFA this afternoon, they apparently placed him on waivers earlier in the week.
12:37pm: The Rockies announced they’ve designated reliever Keegan Thompson for assignment. The right-hander is out of options and didn’t win a spot in Warren Schaeffer’s bullpen. Colorado selected the contracts of backup catcher Brett Sullivan and rookie first baseman T.J. Rumfield, each of whom was informed they’d made the team over the weekend. Thompson’s DFA cleared one spot on the 40-man roster, while the other was opened with Pierson Ohl (Tommy John surgery) going on the 60-day injured list.
Colorado also optioned hard-throwing righty Seth Halvorsen, who walked 12 batters in five innings this spring. They made five more season-opening IL placements. First baseman Blaine Crim (left oblique strain), utility player Tyler Freeman (back tightness), and outfielder Zac Veen (right knee contusion) all land on the 10-day injured list. Righties McCade Brown (shoulder inflammation) and RJ Petit (Tommy John surgery) open on the 15-day injured list. Colorado will move Petit to the 60-day IL whenever they need a 40-man roster spot. Freeman’s injury means first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston claims the last bench role.
Thompson’s DFA wasn’t motivated by 40-man concerns but rather his out-of-options status. The Rockies opted to carry Jaden Hill and Zach Agnos in middle relief over Halvorsen and Thompson. They’re dedicating long relief roles to Chase Dollander and Antonio Senzatela. Trade pickup Brennan Bernardino is their only left-hander in the group, while they’ll use Jimmy Herget, Juan Mejia and Victor Vodnik in the late innings.
Colorado claimed Thompson off waivers from the Reds in January. He was on a split contract with Cincinnati that would have paid $1.3MM if he made the MLB roster and $350K for time spent in the minors. The Reds tried to sneak him through waivers but the Rockies placed a claim to take a look at him in camp. The 31-year-old righty had a tough spring, allowing 10 runs with six free passes (five walks and a hit batter) against four strikeouts over 12 innings.
There’s a decent chance Thompson sticks in the organization. He’ll likely go on waivers this week. If he clears, he’s unlikely to decline a minor league assignment and walk away from his $350K Triple-A salary. Thompson spent all of last year at the Triple-A level in the Cubs’ system. He turned in a 4.50 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of opponents across 64 innings.
Finding A First Baseman In Colorado
The Rockies made a pair of additions in the first base department in late January. The club added Edouard Julien in a trade with the Twins, then picked up T.J. Rumfield in a deal with the Yankees. Even after bringing in two first base options in one day, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta didn’t close the door on more acquisitions at the position.
Colorado’s first basemen ranked 29th in OPS last season. Michael Toglia “led” the way with a .592 mark in 329 plate appearances. The former first-round pick opened the season as the everyday starter. Toglia struck out nearly 40% of the time through two months and found himself back in Triple-A before the end of May.
Warming Bernabel looked like a possible answer after a ridiculous start to his career. The 23-year-old piled up 14 hits, including three home runs, in his first seven games. It went downhill pretty quickly from there. Bernabel finished the year with a 78 wRC+ and was outrighted off the roster in December.
No other Colorado bat reached 60 plate appearances at first base. A hodgepodge of Kyle Farmer, Orlando Arcia, Keston Hiura, and Blaine Crim filled in after Toglia was sent down. Crim is the only one of the group still on the roster (more on him in a bit). Here’s a rundown of the Rockies’ options at the position…
A waiver claim is the leading candidate to occupy the first base role, which might say something about the position battle. Johnston was scooped from the Marlins in early November. The move came shortly before DePodesta was announced as the new top executive, so it’s unclear who actually executed it.
Johnston was solid in his first foray into the big leagues, posting a 109 wRC+ across 121 plate appearances last season. While he’s often been old for each level, the 28-year-old also has a strong minor league track record. Johnston slashed .307/.399/.549 in 134 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. He’s put up 23 home runs and 48 steals at Triple-A the past two years.
Blaine Crim
The 28-year-old Crim should at least be the right-handed complement to Johnston to begin the season. He went 0-for-11 with the Rangers last year, but found some success with Colorado after getting claimed off waivers. Crim popped five home runs in 15 games with the Rockies. The power production also came with a 36.1% strikeout rate.
Crim has taken a similar path to Johnston. He’s put up solid minor league numbers across multiple seasons, but has typically been older than the competition. Crim hit .284 with 18 home runs over 83 games at Triple-A last year before leaving the Rangers’ organization. He wasn’t nearly as productive in the minors with Colorado, though.
T.J. Rumfield
Julien is likely ticketed for the second base job, but the other aforementioned trade acquisition could factor into this race. Colorado sent reliever Angel Chivilli to New York in exchange for Rumfield. The 25-year-old slashed .285/.378/.447 at Triple-A in 2025. He’s delivered a 116 wRC+ or better in both stints at the highest minor league level.
Rumfield has already compiled 252 games at Triple-A, so there isn’t much left for him to prove. He’s in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. A decent spring would go a long way toward challenging for a roster spot.
The third overall pick in the 2024 draft will likely have this job someday, but it might not be as soon as Rockies fans would want. The 22-year-old maxed out at Double-A in his first full professional season. He put up a 132 wRC+ at the level, so it’s hard to argue with the production, though some time spent in Triple-A is likely on the horizon.
Condon had an .820 OPS at three minor league stops last season, but the 70-grade power hasn’t shown up just yet. He finished with 14 home runs in 433 plate appearances last year.
A Free Agent Signing
DePodesta didn’t rule out another addition, and a handful of veterans remain available. Assuming the left-handed Johnston has at least a platoon role, that rules out Rowdy Tellez. Wilmer Flores, Rhys Hoskins, and Donovan Solano are right-handed options who could be had for a reasonable price. The 41-year-old Justin Turner probably won’t be signing up for part-time work on a rebuilding team.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Rockies Claim Blaine Crim
The Rockies announced that they’ve claimed first baseman Blaine Crim off waivers from the Rangers today and optioned him to Triple-A. No corresponding move was necessary, and the Rockies’ 40-man roster now stands at 40. In addition, the Rangers announced that outfielder Dustin Harris has been assigned outright to Triple-A after clearing waivers.
Crim, 28, made his big league debut with Texas earlier this year. He appeared in just five games total for the Rangers and 0-11 with a walk and six strikeouts across 13 plate appearances. A 19th-round pick back in 2019 by the club, Crim climbed the minor league ladder and first reached the Triple-A level back in 2022. He’s a career .283/.374/.487 hitter in 363 games for the Rangers’ Round Rock affiliate, and his .284/.373/.515 slash line in 83 games at the level this year has generally been more of the same. That slash line looks better on paper before you consider the context of the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment, but he’s still a 119 wRC+ hitter at the level this year even after factoring that in.
That was enough to earn Crim the opportunity to step in at first base for the Rangers earlier this year when Jake Burger was briefly optioned to the minor leagues, although that cup of coffee did not go especially well. He’s been back in the minors since then, and was recently designated for assignment by Texas in order to make room for the addition of trade acquisition Merrill Kelly to the 40-man roster. Now, he’s been plucked off waivers by Colorado and will join a first base mix that already includes Michael Toglia and Warming Bernabel. Toglia has struggled badly in the majors this year and was optioned to the minors earlier today, but Bernabel recently made his big league debut and has gotten off to a hot start with three home runs in his first seven games as a big leaguer.
As for Harris, the 11th-round pick of the A’s back in 2019 made his big league debut with the Rangers last year. He went 2-for-7 with a home run in a two-game cup of coffee last year but struggled in 16 games this season to the tune of a 68 wRC+, leaving him with roughly league average results overall in 45 MLB plate appearances. That tiny sample doesn’t say much about his abilities, however, and a better look at him can be found in the form of his somewhat lackluster production at Triple-A this year. He’s slashed .262/.305/.401 in 66 games for Round Rock, good for a wRC+ of just 95. He’ll now serve as non-roster outfield depth for the Rangers going forward, but he’ll have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency after the season if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster.
Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly
The Rangers announced the acquisition of starting pitcher Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks for pitching prospects Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake and David Hagaman. Texas designated first baseman Blaine Crim for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kelly is the most significant of three deadline pickups for the Rangers. They also deepened their bullpen by adding Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe. The Rangers leaned even harder into their identity as a pitching and defense team after evidently being dissatisfied with the asking prices on top hitters.
The 36-year-old Kelly was arguably the best rental starter who changed hands. He has turned in a 3.22 earned run average through 128 2/3 innings. That comes with a solid 23.5% strikeout percentage and a league average 7.4% walk rate. Kelly doesn’t have massive swing-and-miss stuff, but he’s a plus command artist with a long track record of mid-rotation performance. This will his third sub-4.00 ERA season within the past four years. Last year’s 4.03 earned runs per nine is his worst mark since 2021.
That’s rock solid production that’ll make Kelly a high-end #3 starter in Texas. He’d slot behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi as the expected playoff rotation if the Rangers qualify. They have plenty of work to do in that regard — they’re currently tied with Seattle for the final AL Wild Card position — but opponents would have a very tough time scoring against them in October. Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter figure to round out the starting five for the time being. That could push Kumar Rocker back to Triple-A.
Kelly is playing on a $7MM salary. It’s the final year of what turned out to be a very team-friendly extension that he signed with the Snakes early in the ’22 season. Texas is taking on roughly $2.22MM for the stretch run. They also added around $950K on Coulombe’s deal and picked up roughly $634K on Maton. The Rangers have wanted to stay underneath the $241MM base luxury tax threshold. RosterResource unofficially estimates them around $236M. The actual number is likely to be above that by season’s end as players trigger incentives, but it seems the Rangers at least stayed on the border of the threshold while making a trio of acquisitions on the pitching staff.
Arizona had already dealt Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor as they sold off most of their impending free agents. The biggest question on deadline day was whether they’d trade both Kelly and Zac Gallen. Ultimately, they only found what they considered a satisfactory offer on Kelly. Gallen will finish the season in the desert and quite likely receive and reject a qualifying offer. The D-Backs valued the compensatory draft pick they’d receive in that scenario more than whatever teams were willing to trade for Gallen, who has underperformed this season.
Kelly’s superior year allowed the Snakes to get a trio of minor league arms. They focused their trade returns on upper level young pitching. Drake, a 6’5″ left-hander, is the highest regarded of their new prospects. He placed fifth in the Texas system at MLB Pipeline and ninth at Baseball America. BA feels the former 11th-round pick projects as a multi-inning reliever, while Pipeline projects him as a back-end starter.
Drake has struggled over four Triple-A starts but turned in a 2.44 ERA through 12 appearances in Double-A. He sits around 93 MPH and has a four-pitch mix with advanced command. He’s 24 years old and will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He should debut at some point next year at the latest.
Bratt, 22, is a 6’1″ lefty who was selected out of high school in the 2021 draft. The Canadian southpaw has spent the whole season at Double-A Frisco. He has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with a plus 28.5% strikeout percentage and minuscule 4.3% walk rate in 18 appearances. Bratt placed ninth in the system at Pipeline and 14th at Baseball America. He’s a good athlete with above-average to plus command but fringe stuff that could make him a fifth starter. He’ll also need to go on the 40-man roster this offseason.
The 22-year-old Hagaman is a little further off. He was a fourth-round pick out of West Virginia last summer. He underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has been limited to eight professional appearances. Both BA and Pipeline ranked him in the middle third of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects. The 6’4″ righty has an impressive three-pitch arsenal but struggled with command in college. He could be a long-term reliever but will get a chance to develop as a starter.
Arizona’s player development staff now has a lot of young pitching talent with which to work. Most of those players could be on the MLB radar by next season. In the meantime, veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani will stretch out from long relief to take Kelly’s rotation spot (relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). He has a 3.86 ERA in 23 1/3 frames and should be a serviceable innings source so the D-Backs don’t need to press their younger arms into early action.
As for Crim, he’ll be placed on waivers in the next few days. The 28-year-old first baseman got a brief look earlier in the season when the Rangers optioned Jake Burger to Triple-A. He went 1-11 with a walk. Crim has a career .283/.374/.487 batting line in more than 1600 plate appearances at the top minor league level.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.5 first reported the Rangers were nearing a Kelly deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed there was an agreement in place. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Arizona was acquiring three prospects, including Drake and Hagaman. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was first on Bratt’s inclusion. Image courtesy of Charles Leclaire, Imagn Images.
Rangers Option Jake Burger
May 2: The moves have now been officially announced by the Rangers. As reported, Crim has been selected and Ornelas recalled, with Ahmed designated for assignment and Burger optioned.
May 1: The Rangers are demoting Jake Burger to Triple-A, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. First baseman Blaine Crim will be promoted to the majors in his place, according to Rosenthal. Burger has one minor league option remaining, so the Rangers will not need to pass him through waivers in order to send him to Triple-A. Crim is not yet on the 40-man roster and will need to have his contract selected. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the swap from Burger to Crim will be paired with the club designating shortstop Nick Ahmed for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Crim. That will create a new vacancy on the roster’s bench, which Grant suggests could go to utility infielder Jonathan Ornelas.
According to Rosenthal, Burger’s demotion to the minor leagues could be a fairly short one. He reports that the Rangers’ plan is to allow Burger an opportunity to “reset” in the minor leagues before bringing him back up to the majors in the near future. At the very least, the 29-year-old will report to Round Rock for the next ten days before he can be considered for a return to the majors. That’s the minimum stay for a player optioned to the minor leagues before they can be promoted back to MLB.
Even a short stay in the minors demonstrates how difficult Burger’s start to his Rangers career has been. Acquired from the Marlins back in December in exchange for infield prospects Maximo Acosta and Echedry Vargas as well as pitching prospect Brayan Mendoza, Burger was brought in to replace Nathaniel Lowe at first base on the heels of a year-and-a-half stint with the Marlins where he slashed .265/.315/.472 with a 112 wRC+ across 190 games. Last year’s production was less impressive, however, as he posted a 106 wRC+ overall. While he slugged 29 homers in 137 games, he struck out in 25.9% of his plate appearances and got on base at a lackluster .301 clip. Still, it was an above-average profile overall and the power intrigued the Rangers enough to invest in the slugger, who will remain under team control for three more seasons after this one.
Burger is only 29 games into his career with the Rangers, but the early returns on that investment have not exactly impressed. In 105 plate appearances this year, Burger has hit just .186/.229/.330 with a well below-average wRC+ of just 55. He’s struck out at a worrisome 30.5% clip, walked in just 2.9% of his plate appearances, and has so far failed to generate the trademark power that has become his carrying tool over the years. That all came together to leave Burger with the fifth-worst season among qualified first basemen this year by wRC+ and the sixth-worst by fWAR. Perhaps a more successful team would be more willing to display patience with a newly-acquired player, but the Rangers are currently 16-16 and have fallen to fourth place in the AL West behind the Mariners, Astros, and Athletics.
Those woes can largely be attributed to a lackluster offense. There have been some major bright spots; Wyatt Langford is looking like a potential superstar, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung, and Josh Smith have all been impressive, and Corey Seager looks like his typical star-level self when healthy. Unfortunately, Seager is currently on the injured list and other key pieces of the offense expected to help carry the load in his absence like Marcus Semien, Joc Pederson, and Burger have been disappointing in the early going. Given the veteran statuses of Semien and Pederson, Burger was the only one of that struggling trio who could be optioned to the minors and therefore by far the easiest to remove from the lineup for a temporary reset.
That makes Burger’s demotion in some ways about circumstances as much as it’s about performance. After all, while Burger’s plate discipline numbers early in the season have been worrying as he’s made worse swing decisions while whiffing inside the strike zone more often as compared to last year, underlying metrics actually paint quite a rosy picture about his expected power production. The slugger’s 13.4% barrel rate is higher than last year, and the same can be said for a 49.3% hard-hit rate that actually matches his breakout 2023 season with the Marlins and White Sox. Combine Burger’s expected slugging percentage of .411 (more than 80 points higher than his actual production) and his artificially low .234 BABIP, and it’s easy to see how Burger could turn things around in relatively short order.
He’ll need to fight his way back up to the majors in order to do that, however. In the meantime, the Rangers will turn to well-regarded prospect Blaine Crim to handle first base. Crim is nearly 28 years old, making him older for a prospect, and he was drafted by the Rangers all the way back in 2019 during the 19th round of that year’s draft. Despite that age and lack of pedigree, Crim is now in his third consecutive season with impressive results at the Triple-A level, where he has a career .286/.373/.486 slash line across 308 games. Crim’s been even more impressive so far this year, with a .313/.365/.565 slash line across 126 plate appearances. If he can come up to the majors and prove he can hit at the highest level, it would hardly be a surprise to see Crim remain in the mix even after Burger returns to action. After all, Pederson typically sits against left-handed pitching, and a right-handed bat like Crim could offer the Rangers a solid platoon partner for their struggling slugger going forward.
As for Ahmed, the 35-year-old is now in his 12th season in the majors and has appeared in just four games for the Rangers this year. He’s yet to record a hit in eight trips to the plate this year but does have a walk and a run scored to go with three strikeouts. Assuming he does get designated for assignment to make room for Crim, the Rangers will have one week to either attempt to pass Ahmed through waivers or work out a trade sending him elsewhere. Should Ahmed clear waivers, he would then have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues or elect free agency instead.