Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the following roster moves prior to Sunday’s homestand finale against the Washington Nationals:
· Outfielder Steven Duggar (#9 – pronounced DUH-ger) reported to club and added to 26-man active roster.
· Right-handed pitcher Glenn Otto activated from COVID-19 Related Injured List.
· Right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
· Right-handed pitcher Matt Bush placed on 15-day Injured List, retroactive to June 25, with right forearm soreness.
· Right-handed pitcher Demarcus Evans designated for assignment.
· Left-handed pitcher Taylor Hearn and infielder Ezequiel Duran optioned to Round Rock (AAA) on Saturday postgame.
The 28-year-old Duggar, who was acquired in a Thursday trade with San Francisco in exchange for outfielder Willie Calhoun and cash considerations, will be seeking his Rangers debut and his first Major League action since April 21 at New York-NL. He was on the 60-day Injured List from April 22-June 22 with a left oblique strain. The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing outfielder batted .194 (7-36) with 3 doubles and 4 RBI in 12 games for San Francisco prior to being placed on the Injured List, his 5th straight season to see Major League action with the Giants (2018-22). He batted .204 (10-49) with one home run and 5 RBI in 14 games as part of an injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Sacramento this month.
Duggar owns lifetime figures of .242 batting average, 14 home runs, 87 RBI, and 18 stolen bases over 254 MLB contests, making starts at the center (151), right (37), and left field (4) positions. He has spent his entire eight-year professional career in the Giants organization since being selected in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of the University of Clemson, where he was teammates with Rangers outfielder Eli White for multiple seasons (2014-15).
Otto is the Rangers’ scheduled starting pitcher for the Sunday homestand finale against the Nationals. He was placed on the Injured List on June 10, the day of his last scheduled MLB start against the White Sox in Chicago. He made one start on injury rehabilitation assignment with Round Rock (AAA) on Tuesday at Oklahoma City (L, 2.2 IP, 4 R-3 ER, 55 pitches). Otto has gone 4-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 8 games/starts for Texas this season, and he is seeking his first MLB action since June 4 vs. Seattle (W, 5.0 IP, 2 R-ER).
Sborz has posted no record with a 9.64 ERA (10 ER/9.1 IP) over 9 relief appearances spanning four stints with Texas: Opening Day-May 1, May 8, May 12-19, June 8. He has served as the 27th man for each of the Rangers’ two doubleheaders this season, and his last Major League outing came on June 7 at Cleveland (G1), when he tossed a scoreless 8th inning to finish the 6-3 defeat. Sborz has also made 13 appearances with Round Rock this season: 1-0, one save, 0.55 ERA (1 R-0 ER/16.1 IP), 7 walks, 23 strikeouts.
Bush was scratched from a scheduled start in a bullpen game on Saturday vs. Washington after pitching in Friday’s series opener. He has gone 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 30 games/3 starts for Texas this season. The first date he would be eligible to return to the active roster is July 10.
The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release, or outright Evans to the minor leagues. He has spent the entire season at Round Rock, going 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA over 12 relief appearances.
Hearn has been in the Texas rotation for the entire season, including a start in the club’s home opener on April 11 vs. Colorado. He has gone 4-5 with a 5.86 ERA over 14 games/13 starts for Texas this season, including 4.0 hitless, scoreless innings in relief on Saturday vs. Washington.
Duran batted .258 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI over 16 games for Texas in his first Major League action spanning June 4-24. He will be seeking his first career Triple-A action with Round Rock, as he has spent the balance of the season at Double-A Frisco, batting .317/.365/.574/.939 in 45 games.
Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the Major League roster, along with two players (Jonathan Hernández and Eli White) on the 60-day Injured List.
