Texas Rangers Pull Off Early Trade, Send Infielder to Atlanta Braves

The Texas Rangers have made a significant transaction on Saturday morning.

According to an announcement from the team, the Rangers traded away infielder Jonathan Ornelas to the Atlanta Braves organization in exchange for cash considerations.

Ornelas had been designated for assignment earlier this week when Texas claimed utility man Michael Helman off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates, so a trade felt like the most likely outcome.

Originally a third round selection in the 2018 MLB draft out of high school in Arizona, Ornelas was a top-30 prospect in the organization for a long time before eventually making his Major League debut in 2023. He had been added to the 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 draft the offseason prior.

Since then, he has played in a total of 30 games for the Rangers and had yet to pop to this point, slashing .184/.245/.224 with nine hits and three RBI.

In his minor league career which has now spanned seven seasons over various levels, he owns a solid slash line of .266/.345/.379 with 42 home runs and 256 RBI over 610 games played.

Still just 24 years old, there is plenty of time for Ornelas to develop into an impactful big league player, it just had become clear it was not going to be in Texas.

Rangers fans who patiently waited for Ornelas for years certainly will be disappointed to see him go and watch with a close eye to see if he can stick around with the Braves to become a more regular player.