Texas will call up Isiah Kiner-Falefa to play third and Jose Trevino to split time behind the plate with Jeff Mathis.
“We want to have the opportunity to play some of these guys if they deserved,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “With the way the playing time would be shaking out, there wouldn’t have been a whole lot of playing time for Asdrubal. From a defensive standpoint, we think Kiner is an upgrade at third base and Trevino, that’s his forte behind the plate. Gives us a chance to upgrade in two spots defensively.”
Kiner-Falefa had been working to improve his defense as a catcher since 2016, but Trevino is ahead of him in the pecking order. Kiner-Falefa came on the scene as a utility infielder and will get the majority of the playing time at third base.
“We put a tall task in front of him having him catch at the Major League level,” Daniels said of Kiner-Falefa. “He’s done an unbelievable job, worked his tail off, gotten a lot better. There is still a ways to go and I think the reality is if we want him to develop exclusively as a catcher, it would probably be in the Minor Leagues. Jose is a little ahead of him defensively. Kiner deserved the opportunity to come up and play and the opportunity is at third base.”
The Rangers are off Thursday and will open a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Globe Life Park.