Fansided

J.P. Arencibia off of Rangers’ 40-man roster

By Matt Fisher

Apr 4, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers catcher J.P. Arencibia (7) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers catcher J.P. Arencibia (7) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Two days after sending free agent acquisition J.P. Arencibia to the DFA line, it appears that the Texas Rangers are trying as hard as possible to completely distance themselves from the struggling catcher.

Arencibia was designated for assignment on Tuesday with Chris Gimenez coming up to take his place. It was reported by Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Arencibia had cleared waivers and was being sent to Triple-A Round Rock. Thursday, MLB Trade Rumors’ Jeff Todd reports that Arencibia’s name no longer appears on the Rangers’ 40-man roster. The transaction appeared on the Pacific Coast League’s transaction page.

Arencibia, who the Rangers signed in the offseason to a one-year, $1.8 million contract to be the backup to Geovany Soto, had to assume the primary catching position after Soto’s injury and subsequent surgery. He has under-performed since the start of the season and had lost the primary catcher job to Robinson Chirinos. Upon designation, Arencibia had a .133/.182/.233 slash line, displaying all of the problems hitting for average that he displayed in Toronto, but having none of the power stroke he had with the Blue Jays.

Geovany Soto is still not expected back until the end of June and the Rangers have one other ‘ready-to-go’ catching option in the minors in Pat Cantwell.

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