David Dahl DFA shows (almost) no one is safe on the Texas Rangers’ roster

One of the “marquee” free agent pickups for the Texas Rangers last off-season is now on the chopping block.

That would be OF David Dahl, signed to a 1-year deal during the 2020 Winter Meetings and thought to be a shrewd pickup. A bounce-back candidate with a career .781 OPS? It sounded like a chance worth taking for the rebuilding candidate.

Instead, Dahl is done, at least for now, after 63 games in Arlington.

Dahl, who has suffered multiple nagging injuries this season in a tradition that has spanned his career and made him a non-tender candidate from the Colorado Rockies in the first place, hit to just a .568 OPS with four homers in 205 at-bats in 2021. That’s just not major league caliber, even for the rebuilding Rangers.

In his place will be OF DJ Peters, the former LA Dodgers No. 15 prospect who was claimed on waives by the Rangers and was added to the 40-man roster. At this juncture, that seems like the better upside play for a team that should be doing plenty of experimenting as they finish out the season and figure out what works long term.

David Dahl’s DFA shows one is safe on the Texas Rangers’ roster as the youth movement really comes into focus

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This roster move is evidence of what was expected to play out for the Texas Rangers after an active trade deadline. With the future in front of them, veterans that aren’t performing are not guaranteed to hold onto their jobs, and rightly so. Future contributors need a chance to prove themselves.

With the exceptions of Adolis Garcia, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nathaniel Lowe, hot-hitting catcher Jonah Heim, starter Dane Dunning and newly acquired Spencer Howard, who is expected to join the rotation, you could definitely argue no one on this current roster is safe.

It should only be a matter of time before pitchers Mike Foltynewicz and even Jordan Lyles find themselves DFA’d from the organization. Why waste time with ineffective veterans when they can be replaced with cheaper, younger and higher upside (in many cases) alternatives? And with the team rebuilding, that’s the only sensible path to take.

The youth movement and the eye towards the future is really coming into perspective in Arlington beginning with the Dahl DFA. Expect these types of moves to continue being made.