Rangers acquire 2B Nick Solak from Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP Pete Fairbanks

Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has acquired second baseman Nick Solak (pronounced SO-lack) from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Pete Fairbanks. Solak, who does not go on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

Solak, 24, has batted .266 with 17 home runs and 47 RBI over 85 games with Triple-A Durham in the Rays system this season, ranking among team leaders in home runs (1st), RBI (2nd), runs (2nd, 56 – also 9th in International League), and walks (T2nd, 39). The right-handed batter already has 17 home runs this season after setting a career best with 19 home runs in 2018 with Double-A Montgomery. Solak, who has also seen significant action in left field and center field in his professional career, is still seeking his Major League debut and owns a career .290/.382/.453/.835 slash line over 405 games spanning four pro campaigns.

A native of Woodbridge, Ill., Solak was selected by the New York Yankees out of the University of Louisville in the second round of the 2016 June draft. He was acquired by the Rays from the Yankees in a three-team trade that also involved the Arizona Diamondbacks on February 20, 2018. Solak was college teammates at Louisville with the Rays’ Brendan McKay, who made his MLB debut against the Rangers last month, and the pair were also teammates in 2015 in the Cape Cod League.

Fairbanks, who has been assigned from Nashville to the Rays’ Triple-A Durham affiliate, went 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA (9 ER/8.2 IP) over 8 relief appearances with Texas this season in his first Major League action. His lone stint with the Rangers was from June 8-July 2. Fairbanks has combined to go 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA over 24 relief appearances with Down East (High-A), Frisco (AA), and Nashville in the Rangers farm system. He was originally selected by Texas in the ninth round of the 2015 June draft out of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Following these transactions, the Rangers now have 39 players on the club’s Major League roster, along with five players on the 60-day injured list: RHP Luke Farrell, LHP Taylor Hearn, LHP Yohander Méndez, LHP Jeffrey Springs, and RHP Edinson Vólquez.