Rangers Acquire C Willie MacIver, RHP Michel Otañez Via Waiver Claim From Athletics

By | November 5, 2025

Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the following transactions:

Additionally, outfielders Dustin Harris and Billy McKinney have cleared waivers and are now free agents.

MacIver, 29, made his Major League debut over 32 games with the Athletics in 2025, batting .186 (19-102) with 3 home runs, 5 doubles, and 9 RBI, while making 29 defensive starts at catcher. He spent the balance of the campaign at Triple-A Las Vegas where he posted a .362/.426/.541/.967 (75-207) slash line with 7 home runs, 2 triples, 12 doubles, and 56 RBI in 54 games for the Aviators. The right-handed hitter paced the Pacific Coast League last season (min. 200 PA) in batting average, while also ranking highly on the circuit in on-base percentage (4th) and OPS (6th).

A native of Pleasant Hill, Calif., MacIver has logged seven professional seasons since he was selected by Colorado in the 9th round of the 2018 MLB Draft from the University of Washington. He carries a career .264 (549-2076) batting average in 583 minor league games, also swatting 73 home runs with 329 RBI in that span. The backstop has nabbed 171 of 551 attempted base stealers in the minors for a 31.0% caught stealing percentage.

Otañez, 28, has gone 1-0 with a 4.81 ERA (21 ER/39.1 IP) and 61 strikeouts in 42 career Major League relief appearances, all with the Athletics from 2024-25. The right-hander allowed 8 earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched over 6 MLB relief outings with the Athletics in 2025 while also appearing in 18 games with Triple-A Las Vegas and one game with Single-A Stockton. He posted a 3.44 ERA in 36 appearances out of the A's bullpen during his rookie campaign in 2024, leading the American League (min. 30.0 IP) with a 14.59 strikeouts per 9.0 innings ratio (55 SO/34.0 IP).

The Villa La Mata, Dominican Republic native began his professional career with the New York-NL organization after signing a minor league contract in 2016. Otañez logged five seasons in the Mets chain (2016, 2018-19, 2021-22) and one year in Arizona's organization (2023) before signing a minor league contract with the Athletics on December 9, 2023.

Following today’s transactions, the Rangers have 35 players on the club’s Major League roster.

– RANGERS –

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