The Texas Rangers have claimed catcher Willie MacIver and pitcher Michel Otanez from the Athletics of California, the team announced today. In addition, outfielders Dustin Harris and Billy McKinney cleared waivers and have become free agents, the team announced. With those moves, the 40 man roster remains at 35.
MacIver, 29, was a 9th round pick of the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Washington in 2018. He became a free agent last offseason, and signed a minor league deal with the A’s. He split time in 2025 between AAA, where he slashed .362/.426/.541 in 54 games, and the majors, where he slashed .186/.252/.324 in 33 games.
I don’t really have much on MacIver. He played a lot of third base at Washington but has been pretty much exclusively a catcher as a pro. The only time he made the BA top 30 list for the Rockies was pre-COVID. His slash lines at AAA the last couple of years are impressive, but he played in Albuquerque in 2024 and Vegas in 2025, and both of those are great hitters parks.
One would tend to see this move as stashing an optionable catcher on the 40 man roster for the time being. Last year, Texas had just two catchers on the 40 man roster, and thus had to make 40 man moves when one of those two was sidelined. And if the Rangers end up needing this 40 man roster spot between now and spring training, well, they can put him back on waivers and, if he clears, outright him.
Otanez, 28, is a righthanded reliever who had a decent season out of the pen for the A’s in 2024, putting up a 3.44 ERA and 2.72 FIP in 34 innings, but allowed 8 runs in 5.1 innings over six games in the majors in 2025. Originally with the Mets organization, he signed as a minor league free agent with Arizona after 2022 and with Oakland after 2023. He throws hard, walks a bunch of guys, and has an option remaining.
Harris and McKinney were guys who the Rangers called up in late September when they needed bodies, and weren’t going to stay on the 40 man roster. Both are now free agents.