OF Jarred Kelenic, RHP Joe Ross designated for assignment
Cleveland, Ohio — The Texas Rangers today announced the following transactions prior to tonight’s series opener against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field:
- Right-handed pitcher Chris Paddack (#40; pronounced ‘PAD-ack’) signed to one-year Major League contract
- Infielder/outfielder Cameron Cauley (#27; pronounced ‘CALL-ee’) contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock
- Outfielder Jarred Kelenic designated for assignment
- Right-handed pitcher Joe Ross designated for assignment
The 30-year-old Paddack has split 2026 in the Miami and Cincinnati organizations, going a combined 0-7 with a 6.96 ERA (41 ER/53.0 IP), 1.66 WHIP, 19 walks, and 39 strikeouts over 13 games/9 starts for the Marlins and Reds. His last outing was a relief appearance with the Reds on June 17 vs. New York-NL (GF, 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 60 pitches).
The 6-foot-5 right-hander was originally signed by Miami on February 12, going 0-5 with a 7.63 ERA (26 ER/30.2 IP) in 7 games/6 starts for the Fish before he was designated for assignment on May 5. After being given his unconditional release on May 11, he signed a free agent deal with Cincinnati on May 13. He went 0-2 with a 6.04 ERA (15 ER/22.1 IP) across 6 games/3 starts for the Reds before he was designated for assignment last Monday. He declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday and became a free agent.
The Austin-area native has gone 32-43 with a 4.84 ERA over 131 games/119 starts in an eight-year MLB career with San Diego (2019-21), Minnesota (2022-25), Detroit (2025), Miami (2026), and Cincinnati (2026). Since winning a start with Detroit on Aug. 23, 2025 vs. Kansas City, Paddack has gone 0-8 with a 7.21 ERA (59 ER/73.2 IP) over his last 20 games/11 starts in the Majors. His teams have lost each of the last 10 games he has started.
Cauley, 23, is making his first career appearance on a 26-man roster and is seeking his MLB debut. He has spent 2026 with Round Rock, his first action at the Triple-A level, hitting .262/.363/.407/.770 (76-290) with 8 home runs, 3 triples, 12 doubles, and 33 RBI across 74 games. In his last 34 games since May 16, Cauley ranks highly in OPS (8th, .900) and average (10th, .308) among Pacific Coast League players with 100-or-more at-bats. He has recorded 29 stolen bases in 29 attempts, the 2nd-most steals in the PCL and the most swipes without being caught in Minor League Baseball. The right-handed-hitting utilityman has started at SS (27 games), CF (21), 2B (13), 3B (10), and DH (2) for the Express.
Since he was selected in the 3rd round of the 2021 MLB Draft by Texas from Barbers Hill High School, the Houston-area product has posted a .244/.325/.404/.729 (451-1852) slash line with 52 home runs, 222 RBI, and 168 stolen bases in 483 minor league games over six seasons. Currently rated as the Rangers’ 13th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, Cauley logged a career-high 20 Cactus League games this spring, producing a .300 (12-40) average and .878 OPS.
The 33-year-old Ross made 5 relief appearances for Texas after having his contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock on June 13, going 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA (4 ER/8.0 IP), 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Kelenic, 26, went 1-for-8 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored in 7 games/3 starts (3-LF) for Texas after his contract was selected from Round Rock on June 19.
With today’s transactions, the Rangers have 39 players on their Major League roster, along with 5 players on the 60-day Injured List (RHP Carter Baumler; LHP’s Cody Bradford, Robert Garcia, Jordan Montgomery; INF/OF Michael Helman).
