Rangers claimed outfielder Dayron Blanco According to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR, he has been waived by the Royals. Blanco was designated for assignment by the Royals last week to make room. Starling Marte To the 40 people in the club. The Rangers moved to a left-handed pitcher. Jordan Montgomery He was placed on the 60-day injured list, creating a spot on the 40-man for Blanco.
Blanco, who turns 33 next month, competed in the Cuban National Series until his age-22 season, but did not make the U.S. team until he turned 25 in 2018. Then a member of the Athletics, he was traded to the Royals the following year and eventually made his big league debut with a cup of coffee five games into the 2022 season. But the following year he took on a much larger role in Kansas City, and over the next two seasons he hit a solid .258/.316/.422 in 270 plate appearances over 157 games. That’s slightly above league average production at the plate, but most of his production is against left-handed pitchers. Blanco has a 137 wRC+ against left-handers and a 70 wRC+ against right-handers. It’s also worth noting that he got a lot of value from his work on the base paths, going 55-for-67 (82.1%) on stolen base attempts in 2023 and 2024.
This certainly made Blanco a useful bench or depth option, but he ultimately ended up being pushed off the Royals’ roster after the team acquired Marte. Isaac Collins During the offseason, they looked to bolster an outfield mix that was considered one of the worst in the majors in recent years. The Royals already have a crowded bench mix, and Blanco has yet to prove he’s capable of handling more than a part-time job at the big league level. I don’t think this will be a huge issue for the Rangers, who have relatively thin outfield depth (especially when looking for a player who can play center field competently) and have a lot of left-handers in the lineup, including: Evan Carter, Jak Pedersonand Josh Smith Spelling against fellow left-handers can be beneficial.
Of course, that’s not to say Blanco is guaranteed a spot on the team’s bench heading into the season. There will be fierce competition against veterans. Andrew McCutchen For his place as a right-handed bat, Sam Haggerty, Michael Hellmanand Ezekiel Duran Both offer more versatility than Blanco. That said, Blanco does have options remaining and could even begin the season in the minor leagues at some point this year before waiting for his opportunity in the majors. At the very least, Blanco’s wheel should give him a strong case to join the team when the roster expands in September and make the postseason if Texas makes it that far.
