The Other Guys on the Rangers Forty Man Roster Part Two

Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys fan dressed as Santa Claus during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Steelers 27-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

I probably could have written this whole list in one  article, but let’s be honest, you don’t want to read all that in one article and I was starting to get a hand cramp. But seriously, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I like to write series because 1) it’s kind of fun and 2) it gives me several days of content to give to the masses! I would also like to take this moment to wish all of you a happy and safe Christmas day, and thank you all for giving us a great year at NolanWritin. We really appreciate our readers and hope that if you like what you read here that you will spread the word about our site. I joined in April and I must say I am having a blast writing for you guys. Merry Christmas! But now, back to the list.

6. Shawn Tolleson – Back in November the Texas Rangers claimed Tolleson off of waivers from the Dodgers. Tolleson spent 2012 with the Dodgers getting into 40 games (37.2 innings) before suffering a back injury that required surgery. That season he had a 4.30 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 20 walks. Tolleson spent most of last season recovering from said back surgery and the Rangers are hoping that he can be a cheap option for the bull pen. He only pitched in five games in the minors last season, and the Rangers seem to have a knack for picking up players coming off of injury. Hope this one works out as well.

7. Matt West – West has only pitched 42.1 innings total in the lower minor league system. West had some elbow issues in the past but hopefully he will be healthy and ready to go in 2014 to begin working his way up the system. West is still a way’s away from Arlington.

Fielders

8. Robinson Chirinos – Robinson spent some time with the Rangers last season, but he spent most of his time with the Round Rock Express. I think it will be more of the same in 2014 with the Rangers picking up JP Arencibia to back up Geovany Soto. Chirinos has a very small major league sample (just 13 games and 28 at bats) and he only hit .179 in his first major league stint. At Round Rock he fared a little better, with a line of .257/.356/.400/.756 with 8 home runs and 40 RBI. Chirinos is considered a good catcher but we all know that Jorge Alfaro is considered the Rangers best catcher in the organization, so Chirinos could be passed over some day by Alfaro, but not any time soon.

9. Chris McGuiness – You may remember Chris as he was called up last season and spent a little time with the big club (10 games, 34 at bats) where he hit .176. He, like Chirinos, spent most of his time with Round Rock in 2013 and he had a line of .246/.369/.423/.792 with 11 home runs and 63 RBI. The first baseman is probably stuck in the system though with the acquisition of Prince Fielder and the fact that the Rangers still have Mitch Moreland on the roster and may not get to stay with the organization for much longer, unless of course the Rangers wind up trading Mitch at some point during the season.

10. Luis Sardinas – The shortstop is the number two prospect in the Rangers organization behind Alfaro, and he is a very good shortstop, something the Rangers seem to have an abundance of right now (Andrus, Profar, Sardinas). Luis played some time in A Advanced league (97 games, 387 at bats) where his line was .289/.358/.360/.710 with just one home run and 31 RBI. He also spent some time with the Rough Riders last season (29 games, 135 at bats) and his line was .259/.286/.311/.597 with (you guessed it) one home run and 15 RBI. Luis is part of that fun log jam the Texas Rangers have at the middle infielder positions and would probably be wanted in any trade that didn’t include Profar, which wouldn’t be many at this point.

11. Jim Adduci – The outfielder has been up and down a couple of times but just doesn’t seem to stick with the Texas Rangers. At this point I believe that he has been passed up by both Michael Choice and Engle Beltre for that fourth outfielder spot. Aducci spent the whole season in Round Rock and had a line of .298/.381/.463/.844 while hitting 16 home runs and plating 65. Pretty good numbers but they just don’t seem to translate to the majors for Jim.

12. Alex Castellanos – Alex was with the Dodgers organization and even got into some games with the big club last season (8, with 18 at bats). He spent most of his time in their AAA affiliate where he had a line of .257/.347/.468/.815 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI. The Red Sox claimed him and then released him in December and the Rangers claimed him just two days ago off of the waiver wire. So welcome to the Texas Rangers Alex!

13. Rafael Ortega – The Rangers claimed the outfielder from the Rockies on November 28 of this year. Ortega played most of his ball at the AA level last season having a line of .228/.315/.297/.612 while hitting one home run and knocking in ten. He is young, just 22,and has some growing to do and the Texas Rangers hope he grows into a good outfielder for them.

This concludes my series on the other guys on the Texas Rangers forty man roster. Hope you all enjoyed it and once again have a very Merry Christmas! Go Rangers!