The Rangers have added a couple of veteran position players on minor league deals
The Texas Rangers announced today that they have signed veteran infielder Nick Ahmed and veteran outfielder Sam Haggerty to minor league contracts with an invitation to the major league camp.
Ahmed is a 34 year old who seemingly has been around forever. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2011 two spots after the Rangers selected Will Lamb, and was traded to the Diamondbacks prior to the 2013 season in the Justin Upton deal.
Ahmed was at least a semi-regular at shortstop for the Diamondbacks from 2015 through 2021, but missed most of 2022 due to shoulder issues, then struggled in 2023 and was released in September. He split the 2024 season between the Giants, the Padres and the Dodgers, slashing .229/.267/.295 in 71 games. One would have thought that he would sign with the Rockies to make it a clean sweep of N.L. West teams, but he’s coming to camp with the Rangers instead.
Ahmed would seem to be a possible utility infielder option if something happens to Josh Smith or Ezequiel Duran, or if one of them gets moved in a trade. However, in his career, he’s been almost exclusively a shortstop — he’s literally played 20 innings in the majors at a position other than shortstop, with that being second base, a position he played once last year and twice in 2014.
Haggerty, a 30 year old switch hitter, has been with the Seattle Mariners since being claimed off of waivers from the New York Mets prior to 2020. He hit a little in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and didn’t hit at all in 2021 or in very limited major league action in 2024. Haggerty tore his Achilles tendon playing for Tacoma in mid-May last year, and missed the rest of the season.
Although a switch hitter, Haggerty has hit lefties much better than righties in his career, with a .263/.355/.452 slash line against southpaws compared to a .208/.277/.271 slash line against righthanders. He could potentially be in the mix for a bench spot as a platoon partner for Joc Pederson or Evan Carter.