Changes.


Kiner-Falfa and Treviño get the call.

On a day when everyone was wondering whether Mike Minor would get dealt, or any of the other Rangers, it turns out nobody was. But that doesn’t mean there were roster moves.

Say goodbye to Asdrubal Cabrera and Tim Federowicz. Both players have been designated for assignment.

Say hello to Jose Treviño and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Both players have been promoted to the big club.

Kiner-Falefa will play third, along with Danny Santana. Treviño will catch, with Jeff Mathis.

As the Rangers settle back into reality from surprise contenders to playing for the future, these are the first of many moves that will surely be made. 

Cabrera simply didn’t hit. And, not being part of the future, it was time to move on and see what others can do. He came here on the back end of a very respectable career with one unenviable goal, plug the Grand Canyon-sized hole left by Adrian Beltre. He simply didn’t have it in him anymore.

Federowicz had the indignity of being almost as bad offensively as Jeff Mathis. The Rangers already have one catcher who can’t hit. (And a second baseman, and a right fielder and, until recently, a first baseman.) And, although Federowicz was the better catcher offensively and defensively, neither by much, Mathis is signed to a two-year deal. The Rangers are stuck with him. Time to see what they have in Treviño.

The final two months of 2019 are about seeing if the Rangers have the pieces to be able to compete for second place in the West in 2020 and beyond.

Cabrera and Federowicz weren’t the anwers.

*****

NO GAME TODAY.