Looks better than Carlos Peña to me

[Bob Of Burleson]

A.J. Pierzynski released by Boston Red Sox

By Jason Mastrodonato | jmastrod@masslive.com

A.J. Pierzynski is officially a free agent.

A week after being designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, the team that had World Series aspirations while signing him to a one-year, $8.25-million contract this off-season, Pierzynski was released from the Red Sox's roster.

They had 10 days to trade him, but after he hit .254 with four home runs and a .633 OPS, clearly there wasn't much interest in the 37-year-old catcher.

"The offense wasn’t there," general manager Ben Cherington said last week. "I'm not trying to be critical of him. It wasn’t any lack of effort on his part. It just wasn’t there. When you sign A.J. Pierzynski, that’s what you're hoping: You're hoping for left-hand offense at a premium position, and we thought that was important to the team. If we got that, it would complement the team."

In Pierzynski's place behind the plate has been 23-year-old prospect Christian Vazquez, who has a cannon for an arm and quick enough feet to give any potential base-stealer second thoughts. Vazquez is 5-for-11 with three doubles in three games since being recalled last Wednesday.

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[tx3653]

I haven't watched a lot of Rangers baseball lately but the bat boy might do better than Pena. They have hyped him for several years and he looks like an A level player.

[jellowrestling]

I haven't watched a lot of Rangers baseball lately but the bat boy might do better than Pena. They have hyped him for several years and he looks like an A level player.

This is Carlos Pena's 14th year in the majors, he's 36 and is a lifetime .232 hitter.

Are you thinking of someone else, or has time just REALLY gotten away from you on this one?

[tx3653]

WOW! 232!

This is the guy playing first base isn't it? Released by the Angels after spring training. 36 years old. Surely they have a young first baseman somewhere in the system that could hit as well. But we all know that whoever is at first now is just holding Prince's spot till next season.

[jellowrestling]

WOW! 232!

This is the guy playing first base isn't it? Released by the Angels after spring training. 36 years old. Surely they have a young first baseman somewhere in the system that could hit as well. But we all know that whoever is at first now is just holding Prince's spot till next season.

My point is that, after 14 years in the majors, he's pretty much a known quantity, and anyone who expects him to hit for average is clearly deranged.

[Bob Of Burleson]

But Carlos has a wonderful attitude.

[jellowrestling]

The Rangers gave up 78 runs in the last 10 games, and went 1-9. My question: how did they manage to win one?

[jellowrestling]

The Rangers gave up 78 runs in the last 10 games, and went 1-9. My question: how did they manage to win one?

104 runs in the last 14 games.
Who'll stop the rain?

[tx3653]

Rangers promote J.P. Arencibia from Round Rock to play first base and designate Carlos Pena for assignment. Pena batted .136 with one homer and two RBI in 18 games.

[Bob Of Burleson]

Rangers activate Soto, recall Arencibia
Addition of two catchers brings total to four on 25-man roster; Pena DFA'd

By Tim Healey / MLB.com

The Rangers' roster will look a little different when they open up the second half in Toronto on Friday.

The club announced on Thursday it activated catcher Geovany Soto from the 60-day disabled list and purchased the contract of catcher/first baseman J.P. Arencibia from Triple-A Round Rock.

With these moves, the Rangers have four catchers on their 25-man roster: Robinson Chirinos, who has received the bulk of the playing time, and backup Chris Gimenez in addition to Soto and Arencibia.

Soto has yet to play in the Majors this season due to surgery on his right knee in March. After hitting .245/.328/.466 for Texas in 2013, Soto went 7-for-35 (.200) with two doubles, three walks and 13 strikeouts in 11 games for Round Rock and Double-A Frisco.

Arencibia, meanwhile, is back for his second stint with the Rangers. He hit .133 with a .182 on-base percentage and .233 slugging mark in 20 games for the club until mid-May. He had a .279/.320/.542 slash line to go with his 14 homers and 41 RBIs in Triple-A.

If Arencibia gets into a game this weekend, it will be his first time playing against the Blue Jays, his former team, in Toronto.

To make room on the roster, the Rangers designated first baseman Carlos Pena for assignment. The team had one spot open already when it traded righty Jason Frasor to the Royals on Wednesday.

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