The Texas Rangers have signed lefthanded relief pitcher Jalen Beeks to a one year deal, the team announced today. To make room for him on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have designated relief pitcher Alexis Diaz for assignment.
So this is interesting. The news about Beeks being signed broke yesterday, and in our post, we discussed the ramifications of the signing, including the 40 man roster implications. I said that either Michel Otanez or Dairon Blanco would likely be dropped for Beeks, with offseason free agent addition Alexis Diaz potentially being squeezed out of spot on the Opening Day bullpen due to his spring struggles.
Instead, the Rangers opted to drop Diaz from the 40 man roster to make room for Beeks. Diaz is only set to make $1 million this year, having been released at the end of the 2025 season by the Atlanta Braves, the third of three teams he pitched for in 2025.
Diaz pitched poorly for all three teams, putting up in toto an 8.15 ERA in 17.2 IP over 18 appearances between the Reds, the Dodgers, and the Braves. He was the closer for the Reds in 2023 and 2024, and was rather good in 2022 and 2023, but the past two seasons have seen his walk rate jump and his K rate plummet. He also allowed six home runs in those 17.2 innings in 2025, which seems bad. He had a 5.61 ERA in 27 appearances for the three AAA affiliates of the three teams he pitched for in 2025, as well.
Diaz has options remaining, so I figured that he would simply be optioned to the minors. He’s been so bad though — as the Texas Rangers PR account helpfully noted, Diaz has allowed 8 earned runs over 1.2 IP in three Cactus League appearances this spring — Texas presumably figures that he will clear waivers and they can outright him, and even if another team claims him, well, no real loss.
In the movie Trading Places, there was a shady character named Clarence Beeks who worked for the Duke brothers. He was played by Paul Gleason. I will no doubt be making Trading Places references in regards to Jalen Beeks through the 2026 season.