Inside The Rangers

Texas Rangers Officially Call Up Red-Hot Slugger For MLB, Option Star First Baseman

The Texas Rangers have made the roster moves of calling up a pair of youngster, optioning a veteran and designating another official.
Dylan Sanders|
Mar 9, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Blaine Crim (74) bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
Mar 9, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Blaine Crim (74) bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers had a notable set of roster moves go through before Friday's matchup against the Seattle Mariners.

The team announced that they would be calling up infielders Blaine Crim and Jonathan Ornelas from Triple-A. The corresponding moves will be first baseman Jake Burger getting optioned down to Triple-A and Nick Ahmed being DFA'd.

Crim was a 19th-round selection back in 2019, whose development and debut has been a long time coming.

The 28-year-old has had a great year in the minors with a .313/.365/.565 slash line. He has hit seven home runs with 25 RBI. If there was ever a time to call him up, it's now.

It will be hard for him to be less productive than Burger, who he will be in the place of in the lineup. The veteran is going down to "reset" his season after his rough start.

The 29-year-old has posted just a .190/.231/.330 slash line so far this season with three home runs and 12 RBI. That's an OPS+ of 65, which is far below where they wanted when they traded for him.

This will be the second stint for Ornelas this season, who has played in three games and gone 0-for-4 at the plate so far. He hasn't been much better in the minors.

It makes sense to go with the younger player, though, as Ahmed has also gone hitless to start this season. He is 0-for-9 with a walk.

The Rangers have already signed and released him this calendar year, but this one feels like the final time.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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