Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the following roster moves:
- Catcher Willie MacIver acquired from the Oakland Athletics via waiver claim.
- Right-handed pitcher Michel Otañez (pronounced mee-CHELL oh-TAWN-yez) acquired from the Athletics via waiver claim.
- Outfielders Dustin Harris and Billy McKinney have cleared waivers and are now free agents.
Willie MacIver
- Age: 29
- 2025 Season: Made his Major League debut with Oakland, appearing in 32 games and batting .186 (19-for-102) with 3 home runs, 5 doubles, and 9 RBI. Logged 29 defensive starts at catcher.
- Triple-A Performance: Excelled with Las Vegas, hitting .362/.426/.541 with 7 homers and 56 RBI in 54 games. Led the Pacific Coast League in batting average (min. 200 PA) and ranked top-six in OBP and OPS.
- Career Notes: Drafted by Colorado in the 9th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of Washington. Across seven professional seasons, owns a .264 average with 73 home runs and 329 RBI in 583 minor league games. Defensively, has thrown out 171 of 551 attempted base stealers (31.0%).
- Hometown: Pleasant Hill, California.
Michel Otañez
- Age: 28
- Major League Career: Appeared in 42 relief outings for Oakland from 2024–25, posting a 1-0 record with a 4.81 ERA and 61 strikeouts over 39.1 innings.
- 2025 Season: Logged six MLB appearances, allowing 8 earned runs in 5.1 innings. Also pitched in 18 games for Triple-A Las Vegas and one game for Single-A Stockton.
- Rookie Year (2024): Posted a 3.44 ERA in 36 appearances, leading the American League (min. 30 IP) with a 14.59 strikeouts-per-nine ratio (55 SO/34.0 IP).
- Career Path: Signed originally by Oakland, Otañez has established himself as a high-strikeout reliever with swing-and-miss stuff.
