Welcome to the fifth installment of Rangers minor league transactions. This post provides a visual breakdown of the Rangers minor league system, along with weekly transaction updates and context.
To see the live organizational depth chart, click HERE.
Arizona Complex League (ACL)
5/17/25 LHP Enyel Lopez assigned to ACL Rangers from DSL Rangers Red.
5/17/25 RHP Jesus Lafalaise assigned to ACL Rangers from DSL Rangers Blue.
5/16/25 LHP Angel Anazco assigned to ACL Rangers from Hickory Crawdads.
5/13/25 IF Williams Wong assigned to ACL Rangers from DSL Rangers Red.
5/12/25 SS Angel Arredondo assigned to ACL Rangers from Hickory Crawdads.
As you will see in other parts of the transactions, the Rangers shifted a couple players to the 60 day IL and released another, which takes them off of the 165 man roster cap for domestic organizational players. That opened up a few spots for Lopez, Lafalaise and Wong to join the Arizona Complex League from the Dominican Summer League. I was a bit surprised Lafalaise wasn’t on the initial ACL season opening roster. I also expect starting pitchers Oscar Romero and Chris Hernandez to get promoted this season, as well.
Angel Anazco struggled at Hickory and his ERA looked closer to an Olympics gymnastics floor routine at 11.70. Another fallen Angel – Arrendondo – was hitting .045 (1 for 22). That’s not going to get it done. He’s backup infielder for now.
IF Williams Wong, at first glance, would not seem to be a fit on the roster. Look a little closer. I believe we have unreported injuries at this level. OF Braylin Morel and IF Daniel Flames are both talents and have not played this season. Morel was worthy of starting 2025 in Hickory. IF Curley Martha has not played in nine days. Hence, you might ask: why not put those guys on the IL? There is no reason to. Since the ACL doesn’t have roster limits, there is no incentive to place players on the IL for that team, unless it was for a 60 day or full season stay (which would open up a spot on the domestic 165). Perhaps that trio of guys who are healing/rehabbing hope to be back in less than a month or two.
The second clue to solving this puzzle? The Rangers drafted two pitchers – Garrett Horn and David Hagaman – who are listed on the active ACL roster. Both were known to have injuries when we drafted them and neither have thrown an inning this season. Information out of Arizona is extremely sparse, but I suspect with Wong’s versatility, he is going to get outfield work. TMI?
A- HICKORY
5/17/25 C Jesus Lopez assigned to Hickory Crawdads from ACL Rangers.
5/16/25 RHP Jesus Gamez assigned to Hickory Crawdads from ACL Rangers.
5/15/25 Hickory Crawdads transferred RHP Nick Lockhart from the 7-day to the 60-day injured list.
5/14/25 Hickory Crawdads placed RHP Michael Valverde on the 7-day injured list.
5/14/25 RHP Grant Cherry assigned to Hickory Crawdads from ACL Rangers.
As predicted last week, C Jesus Lopez was in the ACL just for a ramp up coming off an injury and he is now back with Hickory in the heart of their batting order. I also mentioned RHP Jesus Gamez. He did not give up a hit in 4.1 IP, striking out eight. Gamez is 22, but converted to pitching in 2024 after respectable output as a 1B/OF in 2023. I would expect the Rangers to be aggressive in promoting him until he hits a wall.
RHP Nick Lockhart just cannot stay healthy, which is a bummer.
RHP Grant Cherry? I’ve got nothing for you there, other than he played for the Long Beach State Dirtbags in 2023 before being signed by the Rangers last season. Once a dirtbag, always a dirtbag. In the best of ways.
A+ HUB CITY
5/18/25 C Jhocsuanth Vargas assigned to Hub City Spartanburgers from Hickory Crawdads.
5/17/25 3B Esteban Mejia assigned to Hub City Spartanburgers from Hickory Crawdads.
5/15/25 Hub City Spartanburgers transferred RHP Paul Bonzagni from the 7-day to the 60-day injured list.
C Jhocsuanth Vargas gets shuttled up a level, because Hub City’s catcher got bumped up a level, because Frisco’s third catcher went on the IL. It seems that is the way the Rangers opted to design their rosters at the full season affiliates. Each is playing with 12-13 hitters and three of those are catchers, one often playing DH. Surely this has to do with the catchers managing game planning with pitching staffs, which are more robust in the minors than the majors.
IF Esteban Mejia, IF Theo Hardy and UT Frainyer Chavez are plug and play band-aids wherever they are needed in the system. I had higher aspirations for Mejia after a blazing start last season, but that did not carry into 2025.
RHP Paul Bonzagni is a gut punch. I would have placed him in the top ten of our pitching prospects. My personal rankings:
1. Kumar Rocker
2. Emiliano Teodo
3. David Davalillo
4. Winston Santos
5. Jose Corniell
6. Kohl Drake
7. Paul Bonzagni
8. Caden Scarborough
9. Marc Church
10. Mason Molina/Jose Gonzalez
You could certainly make a case for relievers like Skyler Hales and Ryan Lobus … Or Izack Tiger, who is out for the year. RHP Caden Scarborough has big stuff but hasn’t harnessed it yet. RHP David Davalillo will be #1 by the end of this season, as I expect Rocker and Teodo to be on the big league team for good for the stretch run. Davalillo is dominating high A in 7 starts with a 1.08 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 45 K in 33.1 IP. Get excited about him.
AA FRISCO
5/18/25 C Juan Sulbaran assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Hub City Spartanburgers.
5/17/25 Frisco RoughRiders placed C Kale Emshoff on the 7-day injured list.
5/17/25 SS Theo Hardy assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Hub City Spartanburgers.
5/13/25 CF Wady Mendez assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express.
I explained the catching situation earlier. C Kale Emshoff is an organizational depth piece with power until he proves otherwise. OF Wady Mendez (listed as a CF, but really a LF/RF/DH) is playing a tier or two above where he should be, because Frisco needs outfield depth. You know who would fit this puzzle piece better? The speedy CF Anthony Gutierrez (.271/.339/.299, 13 SB). He’s having a decent season, repeating a level from last year and Frisco desperately could use a CF. They are trotting out RF/1B Josh Hatcher in center. Not ideal. Gutierrez was playing daily and then abruptly stopped on May 9th. I suspect he is nursing a minor injury that has not been reported. With 1B/2B Justin Foscue going on the IL at Round Rock, Frisco, as a result, became shorthanded on their bench to cover that. Therefore, it looks like Cam Cauley will be playing 2B and SS regularly and putting the CF experiment on ice for now.
AAA ROUND ROCK
5/18/25 Texas Rangers recalled RHP Caleb Boushley from Round Rock Express.
5/18/25 Texas Rangers optioned RHP Cole Winn to Round Rock Express.
5/17/25 Round Rock Express activated C Konner Piotto from the 7-day injured list.
5/17/25 Round Rock Express placed 1B Justin Foscue on the 7-day injured list.
5/17/25 2B Frainyer Chavez assigned to Round Rock Express from Frisco RoughRiders.
5/15/25 Round Rock Express released RHP Adrian Houser.
5/15/25 Round Rock Express activated RHP Caleb Boushley.
5/15/25 Texas Rangers optioned RHP Caleb Boushley to Round Rock Express
5/15/25 Texas Rangers recalled RHP Cole Winn from Round Rock Express.
5/13/25 Round Rock Express activated RF Alejandro Osuna.
5/13/25 Round Rock Express activated RHP Emiliano Teodo from the 7-day injured list.
5/12/25 Texas Rangers recalled 1B Jake Burger from Round Rock Express.
5/12/25 Texas Rangers optioned 1B Blaine Crim to Round Rock Express.
RHP Caleb Boushley and RHP Cole Winn are doing the dance between Round Rock and the majors. RHP Adrian Houser pitched his best game as a member of the Express and was released shortly after. Presumably, he triggered an out clause when the Rangers elected not to purchase his contract.
The big news of the week was the promotion of OF Alejandro Osuna, whom I feel is our second best hitting prospect behind IF Sebastian Walcott. I’ve opined before that Osuna has a violent swing, but it is compact, controlled and he has excellent plate discipline. Adam and company have stated that they could envision him as a strong side David Murphy platoon type. I believe that’s selling the guy short. He can be a regular. Maybe not the elite hitting prowess of Steven Kwan, but he can pop 20+ homers with an OPS north of .750 in the bigs. I feel Rusty Greer is a closer comp to Osuna than Murphy (realizing those are two different eras; offense was more prevalent back in the day and teams weren’t trotting out pitchers who threw 97+ on the daily). Osuna is the Green Beret who’s going to run through a wall for you. He’s the guy you want up in a pressure situation. Greer may not have ever been a headliner like Juan Gonzalez or Pudge Rodriguez was for those late 90’s team, but, you licked your chops if he was at the plate or the ball was hit in his direction.
The starting rotation in Round Rock continues to look a little murky even after the Rangers brought in three veterans. As I was ready to cast off RHP Gerson Garabito into the sunset, he throws six innings of one hit ball today. I still don’t think he’s worthy of a 40 man spot, but there’s no need to have that conversation now when there isn’t a roster crunch at the big league level. Behind Garabito, we have LHP Ty Blach, who is proving to be a prudent signing. Then … you have a shit show. RHP Dane Dunning isn’t going anywhere for at least a couple months, because the Rangers don’t want to eat the rest of his contract for the year. SP Robert Dugger and SP Ryan Garcia and SP Cory Abbott are all throwing short outings, either due to ineffectiveness or building up arm strength. Currently, none of that trio is enticing.
I also feel this is an appropriate place to advocate for bringing RHP Trey Supak back up to Round Rock and rewarding Davalillo with a ticket to Frisco. Robert Dugger, in particular, may have a short leash. RHP Kumar Rocker should be joining Round Rock this week on a rehab assignment. Based on how things transpire, he may end up staying at AAA for a while if LHP Patrick Corbin and RHP Jack Leiter continue to deal.
Going into this season, there was a lot of speculation that Leiter would be a better fit as a reliever. I speculated that I could see Rocker (and Teodo) could be ideal late inning weapons on a playoff push. Rocker is going to need to get consistent first. He’s going to get there. It’s just a matter of when.
Yet … doesn’t it make you salivate a little if you think of a September pen of Rocker and Teodo gassing upper 90s, with Hoby Milner, Jon Gray, Robert Garcia and Chris Martin setting them up? It seems like a wild idea at the moment. Stranger things have happened.
EXPLAINING MILB ROSTER CAPS
Round Rock (AAA) and Frisco (AA) each have a 28-player cap, while Hickory (A) and Hub City (A+) can carry up to 30. The Arizona Complex League (ACL), a short-season rookie league, has no roster limit, but the team can’t have more than three players with over four seasons of minor league experience … Across all domestic affiliates (including players on short-term IL), organizations are limited to 165 players. Players on the 60-day/full-season IL don’t count toward that total. As shown in the linked depth chart, the Rangers are currently at 163 … Internationally, the Rangers also field two Dominican Summer League (DSL) teams. Each has a 35-player cap for active players—not including those inactive, suspended or on the IL.