More shoes drop as Rangers search for answers in roster reshuffle, MLB debut

To the Texas Rangers’ credit, the team has demonstrated that it’s willing to make changes in order to become better and start winning more games. For a franchise that thought it had put together a very good roster, making moves after the first full month of the season is commendable. Now we see whether these moves actually pay off and lead to more wins.

We already knew the big move to shake things up was the demotion of Jake Burger. Burger was acquired this offseason from the Miami Marlins after bashing 29 home runs in 2024. The Rangers hoped he’d add a charge to an offense that could at times, lack pop. Unfortunately, he got off to a rough start, hitting just .190 with 3 homers and striking out a whopping 32 times in just 30 games.

Texas Rangers shake up roster as Blaine Crim gets the call and Burger sent down

In his place, Blaine Crim was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, but that was just part of the intrigue. Crim wasn’t previously on the 40-man roster so Texas Rangers fans have been waiting for the other shoe to drop to see how space was made. As it turns out, two shoes dropped on Friday evening in the form of Nick Ahmed and Jonathan Ornelas.

Just ahead of Friday night’s game, the Rangers announced that Ahmed, a journeyman infielder who appeared in five games this season for Texas had been designated for assignment. That was the corresponding move to add Crim to the 40-man but the club wasn’t finished there.

They also recalled infielder Johnathan Ornellas from Round Rock adding another offensive player who may be able to give the big league club a shot in the arm. Granted, the chances of Ornellas doing that, aren’t great.

Because being brought up to Texas, he was hitting just .145 in Triple-A in 18 games played. He is still relatively young at 24 years old despite this being his third cup of coffee in the league so it’s possible the Rangers believe the third baseman could add some sort of spark or excitement to the clubhouse.

Crim continues to be the big name if this flurry of transactions as it’s been confirmed he’ll be making his big league debut for the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The 27-year-old first baseman has been tearing the cover off the ball in the minors this season posting a .313/.365/.565 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI in 28 appearances.