Rangers Sign Former Red Sox Catcher
The Texas Rangers announced prior to Wednesday’s game that the club signed free agent catcher Kevin Plawecki to a Major League contract.
Plawecki reported to the Rangers and was on the active 28-man roster for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rangers now have three catchers on the roster. Jonah Heim is considered the primary catcher while Sam Huff is his back-up. Huff started Wednesday's game as Heim received a normal day of rest.
The Rangers made room for Plawecki on both the 40-man Major League roster and the 28-man active roster by placing infielder/outfielder Nick Solak on the 60-day injured list with a right foot fracture.
Solak was with the Rangers during their last road trip to Tampa Bay but spent part of that trip in a walking boot.
Plawecki, 31, batted .217 with one home run and 12 RBI over 60 games for the Boston Red Sox this season.
He was designated for assignment by Boston on Saturday, released from the roster on Monday and formally given his unconditional release on Tuesday.
The eight-year Major League veteran has appeared in 444 MLB games with New York Mets (2015-18), Cleveland (2019) and Boston (2020-22). The Purdue University was originally selected by the Mets in the first round (35th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft.
Solak suffered the foot fracture when he was hit by a pitch during his last game with the Rangers on Sept. 14 vs. Oakland. He batted .207 with 3 home runs and four RBI in 35 games over three stints with Texas this season: Opening Day-May 18, July 17-Aug. 4, Sept. 1-21. He has spent the balance of the season at Triple-A Round Rock, slashing .278/.371/.489/.860 (62-223) with 10 home runs and 45 RBI over 57 games.
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