Texas Rangers need some help at catcher. Top prospect Sam Huff may get the call.
Not everything went according to plan Wednesday for the Texas Rangers during their 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angeles.
They have a roster decision to make at catcher.
Jose Trevino, who has been a regular since Robinson Chirinos was injured in August and then shipped to the New York Mets at the Aug. 31 trade deadline, sprained his left wrist during a fourth-inning at-bat and is facing some downtime.
X-rays were negative and the Rangers said Trevino is day to day. But manager Chris Woodward said the Rangers will need to bring up a catcher from the alternate camp to work with Jeff Mathis even if Trevino might be down only a few days.
“It’s just a matter of when he feels comfortable enough to swing a bat,” Woodward said.
Top prospect Sam Huff could be the choice.
The Rangers have no other catchers on the 40-man roster besides Mathis and Trevino. Huff, Tim Federowicz and Nick Ciuffo are at the alternate camp.
Huff, though, will have to be added to the 40-man in the offseason to avoid being exposed to the Rule 5 draft. There’s no way the Rangers are going to let that happen to the player many club officials felt was their best prospect after last season.
Woodward confirmed Huff could be the choice, and he will play no matter how long Trevino is out.
“I wouldn’t bring him up if he wasn’t going to play,” Woodward said. “I think we would definitely consider that. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.”
Huff is one of the Rangers’ top power hitters in the minors. He connected for 28 home runs last season at Low A Hickory and High A Down East, and he was also the MVP of the Futures Game after connecting for the game-winning home run.
With his big swing came a lot of strikeouts, 154 of them in 127 games, but he hit .278 with an .845 OPS.
