The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Jarred Kelenic. In a corresponding move, infielder Jonah Bride has been designated for assignment.

It was just two days ago that Texas added Bride to the roster while optioning outfielder Alejandro Osuna. That left the Rangers with a bit of a lopsided roster. They had three primary outfielders in Brandon Nimmo, Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, but they didn’t really have an outfielder on the bench. Cam Cauley has some outfield experience but is more of an infielder. They have quickly opted to make a change.

The switch gets Kelenic to the majors for a third time this year. He began the campaign with the White Sox on a minor league and was on their roster for about a month starting in late April. After getting designated for assignment and electing free agency, he got ten days on the Texas roster in June. After being designated for assignment again and electing free agency, he returned to the Rangers on a minor league deal. He was released from that deal in July but quickly re-signed.

The book on Kelenic is that he is a former top prospect who has continually hit throughout his minor league career, including a huge .310/.408/.584 line this year, but hasn’t been able to put it together in the majors. He now has 1,557 big league plate appearances with 50 home runs but a 30.8% strikeout rate. Overall, he has a .211/.283/.372 line and 84 wRC+. That includes a .213/.304/.295 line this year. He has exhausted his option years along the way, which has led to all the transactions.

The strange sequence of events sends Bride into DFA limbo. With the trade deadline now in the past, he’ll have to be placed on waivers in the coming days. He has a .220/.311/.312 line in his big league career. He had a nice showing in the minors before being called up, putting up a .282/.401/.425 line. He has big league experience at the three non-shortstop infield positions.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images