Texas Rangers designate Alex Castellanos for assignment

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Needing to clear space on their 40-man roster, the Texas Rangers have designated outfielder Alex Castellanos for assignment according to a release by the team. A move was necessary following the team’s signing of left-hander Joe Saunders to a Major League contract earlier this week.

Castellanos, 27, could potentially draw some interest from a team in need of additional outfield depth, provided they have room on their own 40-man roster.

Over the course of his minor league career he’s a .288/.362/.502 hitter across six seasons, the last two of which have been spent predominantly at Triple-A. He’s primarily been a corner outfielder, but Castellanos does have some limited experience at both second and third base.

His tenure with the Rangers has been brief. The team claimed him off of waivers in late December from the Boston Red Sox (who’d DFA’d him upon re-signing Mike Napoli). Boston had just acquired him in late October from the Los Angeles Dodgers (in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker), with whom he saw some extremely limited action in each of the past two seasons. For his career Castellanos has just 43 PA in the Major Leagues and he’s hit just .171/.186/.390, though four of his seven hits have gone for extra bases.

Castellanos had already been a long shot to win a spot on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster and was likely ticketed for another trip to Triple-A, at least to begin the season. Should Texas end up losing him in the next ten days it shouldn’t severely impact their projections for the upcoming season.