The Texas Rangers received catcher Chris Gimenez on a waiver claim from the Oakland Athletics. To make room for Gimenez on the 40-man roster, the club designated left-handed pitcher Michael Kirkman for assignment.
Gimenez, 31, was acquired by Oakland on a waiver claim from Tampa Bay on December 20, 2013. He was in major league spring training camp with the A’s, batting .242 (8-33) with three doubles, no home runs, and three RBIs in 25 games. Gimenez has seen action in 143 major league games with Cleveland (2009-10), Seattle (2011), and Tampa Bay (2012-13), batting .199 at the plate. Gimenez hit one of his six career big league home runs in Arlington.
Kirkman is 2-5 with a 5.17 ERA over 82 career appearances in the majors, all with Texas. He had a 5.25 ERA with eight walks and 12 strikeouts over five games this spring. The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release or outright Kirkman to the minor leagues.
With these moves, the Rangers still have a full 40-man roster plus three players on the 60-day disabled list.
The Rangers also announced that right-handed pitcher Scott Baker has been signed to a minor league contract. He is expected to open the season with Triple-A Round Rock. Baker, 32, spent the entire spring in Seattle’s major league camp as a non-roster invitee, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four games/starts for the Mariners. He has a career record of 63-48 with a 4.15 ERA over 163 games/159 starts in the major leagues with Minnesota (2005-11) and the Chicago Cubs (2013).
