San Diego, Calif. — The Texas Rangers today announced the following roster moves prior to the club’s series opener on Friday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park:
- Catcher Jonah Heim placed on 10-day Injured List, retroactive to July 27, with a left wrist tendon strain.
- Right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz activated from 15-day Injured List (effective July 27).
- Outfielder Bubba Thompson recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
- Right-handed pitcher Owen White optioned to Triple-A Round Rock (effective postgame July 26).
Heim, 28, is batting .280 (92-328) with 14 home runs, a career-high 70 RBI, and an .816 OPS in 90 games this season. He was removed from the Rangers’ game on Wednesday at Houston after sustaining a wrist injury during his 4th-inning at-bat. A first-time All-Star in 2023, Heim has started 80 of the Rangers’ 103 games (77.7%) at catcher this season, the 2nd-highest percentage of any backstop in MLB (PHI’s J.T. Realmuto, 86 of 102, 84.3%). The switch-hitter leads MLB catchers this season in RBI (66), hits (89), doubles (23), and runs (tied, 47), and his .413 (33-80) batting average with runners in scoring position is 3rd-highest among Major League qualifiers (.481-Luis Arraez, .439-Corey Seager).
Sborz, 29, went 4-4 with a 4.54 ERA (19 ER/37.2 IP) in 29 relief appearances with Texas this season before being placed on the 15-day Injured List on July 15 with right biceps tendinitis. The righthander has struck out 52 of 153 batters faced (34.0%) this campaign, which ranked 12th-highest among American League relief qualifiers at the time of his injury. He returns to the Rangers after completing a brief rehab assignment with Round Rock, tossing a scoreless 5th inning on Wednesday at El Paso (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO). Acquired from Los Angeles-NL on February 16, 2021 for right-handed pitcher Jhan Zambrano, Sborz has a 9-7 record with a 4.61 ERA (61 ER/119.0 IP) in 111 games (1 start) across three seasons with Texas (2021-23).
Thompson, 25, has batted .253/.370/.394/.764 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI over 26 games/25 starts in center field (19), left field (5), and designated hitter (1) for Round Rock. This marks his second stint with Texas this season, the other from March 30-June 2, when he hit .170 (9-53) with 4 RBI over 36 games/14 starts for Texas. The right-handed hitter has hits in his last four games with the Express, batting .400 (6-15) with a double, triple, home run, and 2 RBI. The Mobile, Ala. native has seen Major League action with Texas in each of the past two seasons (2022-23), compiling a .242 batting average with one home run and 13 RBI across 91 games.
White, 23, has an 0-1 record with an 11.25 ERA (5 ER/4.0 IP) in 2 relief appearances across two stints (June 13, July 23-26) with Texas since making his Major League debut on June 13 against Los Angeles-AL. The Rangers’ no. 2 ranked prospect (MLB Pipeline) has combined to go 3-3 with a 3.61 ERA (29 ER/72.1 IP) over 16 starts with Double-A Frisco and Round Rock this season.
Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with three players (Jacob deGrom, Brett Martin, and Jake Odorizzi) on the 60-day Injured List.