The Rangers have replaced Michael Helman with Justin Foscue
The Texas Rangers have recalled infielder Justin Foscue, the team announced today. In addition, even though the Rangers have an open spot on the active roster due to Jake Burger being placed on the injured list yesterday, the Rangers optioned outfielder Michael Helman to AAA Round Rock.
One would have simply assumed that Foscue could be summoned without also sending down Helman, since that still leaves an open spot on the active roster. However, reports indicate that first baseman/DH Rowdy Tellez is with the team in Arlington currently, and will be added to the active roster tomorrow prior to the Rangers’ game against the Detroit Tigers.
Tellez, 30, was signed by the Rangers to a minor league deal 12 days ago, having been released by the Seattle Mariners in late June. He has appeared in four games for Round Rock, slashing .333/.375/.800 with a pair of homers in 16 plate appearances.
The Rangers have an open spot on the 40 man roster, and so with Josh Smith playing third base in the absence of Josh Jung, Tellez would give them a lefthanded hitting platoon option at first base (or DH) while Burger is out. Tellez generally grades out as a poor defender, so one would think he’d be spending more time at DH than first base, but we’ll have to see.
Tellez also hasn’t hit much of late — since the start of the 2023 season, he has a .226/.286/.394 slash line, good for an 88 OPS+, in 957 plate appearances. I assume he’s probably a preferable option at DH than Kyle Higashioka or Jonah Heim, though, particularly against righthanded pitchers.
UPDATE — Jake Burger will be out 2-3 weeks, per Bruce Bochy (via the beats), and so Texas will go with a Tellez/Foscue platoon in his absence.