Rangers Designate Eliezer Alvarez
June 2nd: Alvarez has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Double-A Frisco. The news was tweeted by John Blake, the Rangers’ Executive Vice President of Communications.
May 29th: The Rangers have designated infielder/outfielder Eliezer Alvarez for assignment, per a team announcement. His 40-man spot will go to righty Ricardo Rodriguez, who was activated from the 60-day DL.
Alvarez, 23, has mostly played at second base in the minors but has also shown up at short and in left field. He was playing this year at the Double-A level, where he carries a .189/.279/.283 slash through 185 plate appearances. Alvarez was acquired via trade during Spring Training.
As for the 25-year-old Rodriguez, he’s back from biceps tendinitis. He’ll look to maintain the momentum he gathered during an 11-inning rehab stint in which he allowed only one earned run. Rodriguez reached the majors briefly in 2017 after racking up a 61:10 K/BB ratio and working to a 1.34 ERA in 47 minor-league frames on the year.
Rangers Acquire Eliezer Alvarez
The Rangers have acquired infielder Eliezer Alvarez from the Phillies, per club announcements. Cash considerations will go to Philadelphia in return. Texas cleared a roster spot by transferring righty Ronald Herrera to the 60-day DL.
Alvarez, who was acquired in last September’s Juan Nicasio trade, lost his 40-man placement when the Phils decided to elevate utilityman Pedro Florimon. Now, the 23-year-old is moving on to his third team within the past year.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the St. Louis organization back in 2012, Alvarez put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2016 campaign. Playing at the Class A level, he posted a .404 on-base percentage, hit six home runs, and swiped 36 bags in 499 plate appearances.
Alvarez was unable to carry that level of output into the upper minors, though, as he scuffled a bit in 2017. Over his 209 trips to the plate at Double-A, he maintained a .247/.321/.382 slash with 56 strikeouts and 16 walks.
Clearly, though, the Rangers still see some cause to be intrigued in the youngster. Alvarez has lined up primarily as a second baseman thus far, though he has also seen a bit of action on the left side of the infield, so he could conceivably represent a future utility option.
Phillies Select Contract Of Pedro Florimon, Designate Eliezer Alvarez
The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Pedro Florimon and designated infielder Eliezer Alvarez for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. The move seemingly indicates that Florimon will head north with the Phils as a utilityman to open the season, as he’s out of minor league options and now cannot be sent back to Triple-A without clearing waivers.
Florimon, a 31-year-old switch-hitter known for his glove at shortstop, spent the 2017 season with the Phillies organization and hit .348/.388/.478 in a tiny sample of 49 plate appearances with the big league club. That’s not representative of his skills at the plate over a larger sample, though, as he’s a lifetime .209./269/.308 hitter in 791 plate appearances between the Orioles, Twins, Pirates and Phils. Florimon has a gaudy +23 Defensive Runs Saved in 1808 career innings at shortstop, but he’s begun to move around the diamond more in recent seasons; the Phils gave him 79 innings in the outfield last year — his first big league action away from the infield.
The 23-year-old Alvarez hit .248/.318/.390 in 236 minor league plate appearances last season, most of which came at the Double-A level. He’s been primarily a second baseman in the minors, though he’s also seen a couple hundred innings of work at shortstop. Philadelphia acquired Alvarez from the Cardinals in the rare September trade that sent Juan Nicasio to St. Louis, and while he ranked 25th on the team’s top 30 prospect list this winter (via Baseball America), he’ll now likely be made available to all 29 other clubs via waivers or trade.
BA’s scouting report on Alvarez (subscription link) notes that he’s a contact-oriented hitter who projects to hit eight to 12 homers per season and has some question marks about his footwork on the defensive side of things. He did rank as high as No. 10 on the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects back in the 2016-17 offseason.