Yankees Notes: Cole, Rodón, McMahon
It’s been 371 days since Yankees ace Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery, and the wait to see him back on a mound seems to be over. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Cole will start tomorrow’s Grapefruit League game for the Yankees. He’s slated to pitch one inning in his return to game action.
An exact return timetable for Cole remains unclear. The 35-year-old is still a lock to open the season on the injured list. Even if tomorrow’s one inning goes off without a hitch, he’ll need further time to build up to a starter’s workload. That can’t be accomplished in the final week of spring training, but it’s at least feasible that if Cole is ready to throw an inning in a game right now, he could return to the Yankees in late April.
Cole didn’t pitch at all in 2025 after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament last spring and undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 11. Elbow troubles also limited him to 17 starts (95 innings) in 2024. He hasn’t had a full, health seasons since 2023 — though that proved to be quite the year; Cole tossed 209 innings with a 2.63 ERA, made his sixth All-Star team and won his first Cy Young Award. There’s no telling to how his elbow will respond to tomorrow’s more intense setting until he takes the bump, but the fact that he’s doing so a week before the Yankees even open their season is an encouraging development for Yankee fans.
There’s also good news on the team’s other high-priced but injured starter. Carlos Rodón underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in October. Manager Aaron Boone said when camp opened that the big lefty could be back before the end of April. Those comments came nearly a month ago, but it appears Rodón is still on that same track. Boone told reporters this morning that he expects Rodón back “at some point in April,” via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Boone did not commit to the left-hander pitching in a game before spring training ends but also didn’t rule it out. He’s slated for a live batting practice session this week.
Rodón, 33, pitched 195 1/3 innings with a 3.09 earned run average last season. He stepped up in a big way following Cole’s injury, as both that innings count and his 33 games started were career-high marks. Rodón’s injury history is well known, and October’s surgery is the latest data point on his track record, but the 2024-25 seasons marked the first time in Rodon’s career that he started 30-plus games in back-to-back seasons. He’s a long shot to make it three in a row this year, but if he can return in April and remains healthy, he won’t be too far shy of 30 starts.
Good news notwithstanding, the Yankees will open the season with two of their “big three” free agent starters on the shelf. The third, left-hander Max Fried, will get the ball on Opening Day against Giants ace Logan Webb in San Francisco next Wednesday. He’ll be followed in some order by Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and offseason trade acquisition Ryan Weathers. All four members of that quartet have minor league options remaining, so their performances both late in camp and early in the season will be worth watching with a close eye. By early May, it’s possible that two of those younger, less-established arms will have been optioned to Triple-A (assuming good health throughout the group — which is never a given).
On the position side of things, Boone confirmed today that he’d be comfortable with Ryan McMahon playing shortstop in a regular season game (via Kirschner). The 31-year-old is slated to open the season at third base but has been getting reps at shortstop throughout camp. He’s one of the game’s better defenders at the hot corner, and it seems he’s shown enough this spring to gain Boone’s trust as a backup option.
McMahon isn’t going to start at shortstop with any regularity, but his ability to at least capably handle that position in a pinch is notable. Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list following offseason shoulder surgery, paving the way for José Caballero to start at shortstop early in the year. Light-hitting utilityman Max Schuemann is the only real shortstop option on the 40-man roster beyond McMahon, so McMahon’s ability to function as Caballero’s backup impacts the composition of the club’s bench.
Backup catcher J.C. Escarra, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and veteran infielder Amed Rosario are all locked into bench spots. Rosario was a shortstop earlier in his career but rated poorly there and played only two shortstop innings last year and 101 the year prior.
If not McMahon, the Yankees might have felt they needed Schuemann or a non-roster invitee like Jonathan Ornelas, Zack Short or veteran Paul DeJong on the bench. All four have had decent or better spring showings. McMahon serving as Caballero’s primary backup option gives Boone and GM Brian Cashman some more flexibility when deciding on the final spot, however. That could pave the way for non-roster pickup Randal Grichuk to make the club and serve as a righty-swinging complement to Trent Grisham, who batted .182/.303/.348 against lefties even during 2025’s breakout year.
Yankees, Jonathan Ornelas Agree To Minor League Deal
The Yankees are in agreement with infielder Jonathan Ornelas on a minor league contract, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. According to Francys Romero, he’ll get a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training and could opt out midway through the season if he’s not on the 40-man roster.
Ornelas divided this past season between the Rangers and Braves. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he limped to a .196/.295/.303 batting line in nearly 400 plate appearances. Ornelas combined for six big league appearances and has gotten into 32 MLB contests over the past three seasons. He’s a .208 hitter with a .263 on-base percentage and no home runs in that limited body of work.
A former third-round draft choice, Ornelas hasn’t been much of a hitter in the minor leagues either. He owns a .233/.331/.331 slash over parts of three Triple-A seasons. The Yankees are signing him for his glove and defensive versatility. Ornelas has logged more than 3500 minor league innings at shortstop. He has ample second and third base experience and has gotten some work in center and left field.
Anthony Volpe is likely to begin the season on the injured list as he works back from shoulder surgery. José Caballero will enter the year as the starting shortstop barring an offseason acquisition. Braden Shewmake, Jorbit Vivas and Oswaldo Cabrera are their current backup infielders. Shewmake is the only natural shortstop of the group, and he’s coming off a .244/.318/.362 showing in Triple-A. They’ll probably add at least one more established depth infielder, but it’s a decent landing spot for Ornelas as he tries to battle for an Opening Day job.
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Braves Outright Connor Seabold, Jonathan Ornelas
The Braves sent right-hander Connor Seabold outright to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. Infielder Jonathan Ornelas was also outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett after clearing waivers earlier this week, as relayed by 680 The Fan in Atlanta.
Seabold was designated for assignment after Atlanta claimed righty Joel Payamps off waivers from Milwaukee on Monday. He joined the organization as a waiver claim himself, as the Braves scooped him up after the Rays designated him for assignment in early August. Seabold had two separate stints with the big-league club, making a total of four appearances. The veteran logged an ugly 9.82 ERA across 3 2/3 innings. He failed to record an out in his final outing with Atlanta, allowing two hits and a walk before being relieved. Seabold will likely finish his 2025 campaign with a 4.35 ERA across seven games with Atlanta and Tampa Bay.
Seabold’s career ERA now sits at 7.79 in 119 innings, and his underlying metrics aren’t much better (5.00 SIERA, 5.62 xFIP). He did post a career-high 20.8% strikeout rate in 2025, though it came with an untenable 12.5% walk rate. Seabold leaned on his changeup more often this season, particularly since he joined the Braves (32.1% usage rate). He has a decent minor league track record and could contend for a long relief spot next season if the adjusted pitch mix produces better results.
Atlanta marks the fourth team in four major league seasons for the 29-year-old Seabold. He debuted with Boston in 2021, making a single start that season. He made five more starts with the club in 2022. Colorado acquired Seabold via trade after Boston designated him for assignment. Seabold’s tenure with the Rockies would represent his most extensive big-league action to date. He made 13 starts and 14 relief appearances with the team in 2023, posting a 7.52 ERA over 87 1/3 innings. Colorado let him go following that season, and Seabold latched on with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. A solid 2024 season overseas (3.43 ERA, 11-6 record) earned Seabold a minor league deal with Tampa Bay this past offseason.
Seabold has seven minor league seasons on his resume, which means he can elect minor league free agency at the end of the season, if not added back to the 40-man roster.
Ornelas landed with the Braves after being designated for assignment by the Rangers back in May. He faced a similar fate in Atlanta last week, as the club needed a 40-man roster spot for the selection of right-hander Jhancarlos Lara. Ornelas started just one game with Atlanta, but chipped in a run scored and his first two hits of the campaign. He had been hitless over five at-bats with Texas. Ornelas spent the majority of 2025 with Triple-A Gwinnett. He hit just .193 across 85 games with the Stripers.
The 25-year-old Ornelas played parts of three seasons with the Rangers. He maxed out at 40 plate appearances with the big-league squad, which came in 2024. Ornelas has slashed a meager .208/.263/.245 with a 47 wRC+ during his time in the major leagues. His best attribute has been defensive versatility, as he’s made appearances at second base, third base, shortstop, and center field.
This was Ornelas’ final minor league option year, meaning he’ll be out of options going into next year. Ornelas has also appeared in seven minor league seasons, so he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency this offseason.
Braves Select Jhancarlos Lara, Designate Jonathan Ornelas
The Braves announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Jhancarlos Lara from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated infielder Jonathan Ornelas for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Right-hander Dane Dunning was optioned to Gwinnett to clear a spot on the active roster.
Lara, 22, has posted ugly minor league numbers this year but continues to intrigue scouts due to the quality of his raw stuff. He’s sitting 98.5 mph with his four-seamer in Triple-A and couples the pitch with a slider/cutter that ranges from the upper-80s to low-90s and generates plenty of whiffs. As is so often the case with power arms of this nature, command is an ongoing struggle for the 6’3″, 195-pound Lara.
In 68 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Lara has yielded a gruesome 7.73 earned run average. He’s actually been better at the higher of those two levels, working to a moderately better 6.53 ERA. Lara fanned over one-third of his opponents in Gwinnett but has issued walks at a brutal 19.8% clip at each of this year’s minor league stops.
Despite the poor command, Lara still sits 20th among Braves prospects at Baseball America, 21st at MLB.com and 25th at FanGraphs. Atlanta would’ve had to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft anyhow, so he’ll get an early promotion to the majors and get his first taste of big league opposition. Lara is, obviously, still very much a work in progress, but now that he’s on the 40-man roster, the Braves have at least three years to coax even passable command out of him. He’ll head into the 2026 season with a full slate of three minor league option years available to the major league club.
The 25-year-old Ornelas came to the Braves in a cash swap with the Rangers back in May. He’d been designated for assignment in Texas as well. The righty-swinging utilityman went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in his only two games with Atlanta. He’s spent the rest of his time since that May trade down in Gwinnett, where he’s slashed .193/.279/.325 in 333 trips to the plate.
Ornelas is just 11-for-53 in a tiny sample of 58 big league plate appearances, leading to an overall .208/.263/.245 batting line in the majors. He posted decent numbers in the lower minors but has struggled each year since being bumped to Triple-A. However, he’s a plus runner who can play quality defense at shortstop, third base and second base — and he’s gotten some reps in center field over the past few seasons as well.
Now that he’s been designated for assignment, Ornelas will head to outright waivers or be released. He’s in his final minor league option year, which will hurt his chances of being picked up by another club, as he’d need to break camp on the big league roster next spring or else be designated for assignment once again.
Braves Place Austin Riley On Injured List
The Braves have placed third baseman Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list due to an abdominal strain, per a team announcement. Atlanta also optioned outfielder Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett. In place of Riley and Kelenic, infielders Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Jonathan Ornelas were recalled from Gwinnett.
Riley, 28, missed about two weeks with an abdominal strain last month as well. He was only reinstated from the injured list on July 25. It’ll go down as a fleeting return — and one in which Riley didn’t really look right. He belted two homers between his IL stints, granted, but those were two of just four hits in a total of 39 plate appearances. Riley hit .108/.154/.297 and punched out 15 times (38.5%) before returning to the injured list.
It’s been a down year overall for Riley. His .260/.309/.428 batting line (104 wRC+) is solid enough but is also his least-productive run since a midseason debut in 2019 and the shortened 2020 season. Riley’s walk and strikeout rates are both the worst of his career in a full 162-game season (6% and 28.6%, respectively), and this year’s .168 ISO (slugging minus batting average) is his worst in any season at the major league level.
The team didn’t provide a timetable for Riley’s potential return. It’s common in situations like this, where a player heads back to the IL for the same injury after a brief return, for the second stint to be longer and a bit more cautious. Each injury is a situation unto itself, however. Manager Brian Snitker will presumably have more information the next time he meets with the media.
Kelenic, 26, only appeared in one game during this stint with the Braves and didn’t log a plate appearance. He was used as a pinch-runner. Atlanta optioned the struggling former top prospect to Gwinnett in mid-April after he opened the season with a bleak .167/.231/.300 batting line in his first 65 plate appearances. Things haven’t gone much better in Triple-A, where he’s taken 308 plate appearances and delivered just a .218/.289/.321 slash with a 27.3% strikeout rate. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for a second time this winter and, at this point, stands as a clear non-tender candidate.
Alvarez has spent most of the season nursing a wrist injury. He’s struggled in 32 big league plate appearances but been an on-base machine in a small sample of 84 trips to the plate in Gwinnett (.242/.405/.333). He’s still looking to break through with a full-time role in Atlanta after ranking among the system’s more promising minor leaguers for several years now.
Ornelas will be making his Braves debut the first time he takes the field. Atlanta picked him up in a cash swap with the Rangers back in May after Texas had designated the 25-year-old for assignment. He’s a righty-swinging infielder with experience at second, third and shortstop. Ornelas has batted only .184/.245/.224 in a tiny sample of 54 MLB plate appearances across three seasons with the Rangers. He’s a good runner with a solid glove who’s light on power. In 319 turns at the plate between the Triple-A clubs for Texas and Atlanta this season, he’s turned in a tepid .202/.320/.300 batting line.
Rangers Trade Jonathan Ornelas To Braves
The Rangers announced the trade of infielder Jonathan Ornelas to the Braves for cash considerations. Texas had designated him for assignment earlier this week when they claimed Michael Helman off waivers from Pittsburgh. Atlanta already had an opening on the 40-man roster after yesterday’s DFA of Orlando Arcia. They optioned Ornelas to Triple-A Gwinnett, so no further move is necessary.
Ornelas changes organizations for the first time. Texas drafted him out of high school in the third round in 2018. He has never been a great minor league hitter, but he’s a versatile defender with enough athleticism and arm strength to play on the left side of the infield. Texas added him to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft after the 2022 season. That followed a career-best .299/.360/.425 showing as a 22-year-old in Double-A.
The right-handed hitter hasn’t matched that production since moving up to Triple-A. He’s a career .247/.348/.333 hitter in more than 1000 plate appearances over three seasons at the top minor league level. That includes a .204/.339/.235 start through 30 games this year. He has appeared in 30 MLB contests over a handful of stints going back to 2023. Ornelas has hit .184 without a home run while striking out 20 times in 54 big league plate appearances.
Atlanta has limited roster flexibility on the position player side. The only hitters on the active roster who have minor league options are Michael Harris II and rookie catcher Drake Baldwin, neither of whom is in danger of getting sent down. Luke Williams projects as the backup infielder now that they’ve moved on from Arcia.
Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relayed yesterday that Eli White will take pregame infield reps to offer more flexibility off the bench. Ornelas, who is in his final option year, can spend the remainder of the season in Gwinnett as an alternative to the out-of-options Williams and White if the Braves decide to make any changes.
Rangers Claim Michael Helman, Designate Jonathan Ornelas
The Rangers announced that they have claimed infielder Michael Helman off waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock. The Bucs designated him for assignment last week. To open a roster spot for Helman, the Rangers designated infielder Jonathan Ornelas for assignment.
It’s the second waiver claim in a week for Helman. The Pirates claimed him from the Cardinals on May 14th but designated him for assignment two days later when they called up Nick Solak. Perhaps the Bucs were hoping to pass Helman through waivers and keep him as non-roster depth, but the Rangers have swooped in to prevent that from happening.
Helman, who turns 29 on Friday, has a very limited big league track record. It consists of ten plate appearances with the Twins last year. He got three hits but also struck out three times. The Twins traded him to the Cardinals for cash in February.
The Rangers are presumably more interested in his minor league work, which naturally provides a larger data sample. Over 2023 and 2024, Helman stepped to the plate 480 times in the minors. He hit 21 home runs and hit a combined .282/.356/.507 for a 121 wRC+. In addition to that offense, Helman has played every position outside of the battery in his minor league career, meaning he provides lots of defensive versatility.
His 2025 hasn’t gone well so far. He produced a .185/.260/.292 line over 73 Triple-A plate appearances. Perhaps that’s why the Cards and Pirates each took a chance at trying to run him through waivers, but without success. The Rangers will send him to Round Rock and see if his bat can bounce back. He has a full slate of options, so they can theoretically afford to be patient with him if he continues hanging onto his 40-man spot.
Ornelas, who turns 25 next Monday, is in a different position. Though he’s far younger than Helman, he is in his final option year. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2022 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
He had put up some decent numbers in the lower levels of the minors but hasn’t done much at the upper levels or in the majors. He has 54 big league plate appearances so far with a 37% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and .184/.245/.224 batting line in those. Since the start of 2023, he has 1,006 Triple-A plate appearances with a .247/.348/.333 line and 78 wRC+.
Given that performance and the fact that he’ll be out of options next year, it was going to be hard for him to cling to a roster spot going forward, so the Rangers have swapped him out now for Helman. Ornelas will be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rangers could spend five days trying to trade him. He has stolen a few bases in the minors and bounced around the diamond. He has played the three infield positions to the left of first base and all three outfield spots.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Rangers Activate Corey Seager, Outright Dane Dunning
The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve activated star shortstop Corey Seager from the injured list. Jonathan Ornelas was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room for Seager’s return to the roster. In addition, the Rangers announced the righty Dane Dunning has cleared waivers and been given an outright assignment to Triple-A.
Seager, 31, was shelved with a hamstring strain on April 23 and returns after a minimum stay on the IL. For the time being, however, he’s in the lineup at DH with Josh Smith continuing to cover shortstop for Seager. That seems to suggest that Seager is healthy enough to hit at this point but not fully recovered from his hamstring strain, so the Rangers are planning to be careful with him when it comes to fielding. Struggling DH Joc Pederson remains in the lineup today at first base, with newly-promoted first baseman Blaine Crim headed to the bench to make room for Seager. It’s unclear how long the Rangers intend to use Seager in a DH-only capacity, but for however long that lasts it seems Pederson and Crim will need to battle for playing time.
Regardless of how the first base situation plays out or when Seager returns to his short, his return is welcome news for a beleaguered Rangers lineup. Texas has sported one of the league’s weakest offenses this year thanks in large part to the struggles of Pederson, Marcus Semien, and Jake Burger. Seager’s recent absence didn’t help matters, and with him back in the lineup and Burger at Triple-A for a reset it’s possible the changes could help the club’s lineup get going. Seager’s trademark power hasn’t shown itself much so far this year, but the Rangers’ star hitter has still managed a 131 wRC+ while hitting .286/.345/.468 overall in 21 games this year.
Going to Triple-A to make room for Seager is Ornelas. The 24-year-old has been an up-and-down depth piece for the Rangers over the past three seasons and has appeared in just 30 MLB games total. A career .184/.245/.224 hitter in the microscopic sample, he went hitless in six plate appearances with a walk and three strikeouts during his brief time up with the big league club this year. He’ll head back to the team’s Round Rock affiliate and wait for his next opportunity, though his lackluster .146/.269/.146 slash line at Triple-A to open the year will need to improve in a big way for Ornelas to get a more serious look in the majors than his current role as an emergency depth piece.
As for Dunning, it’s the second time the right-hander has cleared waivers this year. He came up for a single three-inning appearance in the majors earlier this week but was cut from the roster immediately thereafter, leaving him to head back to the minors with a 6.00 ERA on the year. Dunning could theoretically choose to reject an outright assignment and test free agency, though in doing so he would forfeit the remainder of his $2.66MM salary this year. That makes the most likely outcome that Dunning will once again accept his outright assignment and pitch for Round Rock until he gets another opportunity in the majors.
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.