The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has purchased the contract of outfielder Carlos Gomez (#14) from Triple-A Round Rock. To make room for Gomez on the both the 25-man and 40-man rosters, the team has designated outfielder Drew Stubbs for assignment.
Gomez, 30, is in the starting lineup for tonight's series opener against the Cleveland Indians and will be making his Texas debut. He was signed to a minor league contact on Saturday and batted .308 (4-13) with a double, triple, and 2 RBI over 3 games with Round Rock from Sunday through Tuesday, making 3 starts in left field. Gomez had spent this season with the Houston Astros, batting .210 (62-295) with 5 home runs, 16 doubles, and 29 RBI in 85 games. He was designated for assignment on August 10, released from the roster on August 18, and given his unconditional release on Saturday before signing with Texas.
A two-time All-Star with Milwaukee in 2013 and 2014, he also won a Gold Glove Award in 2013, when he finished ninth in National League MVP voting after reaching career highs with 24 home runs and 40 stolen bases. He has four different seasons of 30-or-more steals. Gomez has a career .256 average along with 108 home runs in 1171 major league games with New York-NL (2007), Minnesota (2008-09), Milwaukee (2010-15), and Houston (2015-16).
The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release, or outright Stubbs to the minor leagues. Stubbs appeared in 9 games and made 2 starts for Texas after being activated from the 60-day disabled list on August 10. He was on the disabled list from May 23-August 9 with a sprained left small toe. Overall with Atlanta and Texas this season, Stubbs has batted .259 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI in 39 games.
After today's moves, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the major league roster.