Heineman, Valdez up, Carpenter DFA’d, Sampson I.L.’d

Texas Rangers transactions: Outfielder Scott Heineman and pitcher Phillips Valdez have been recalled from AAA Nashville, the Rangers announced today. To make room on the active roster for Heineman and Valdez, the Rangers have placed pitcher Adrian Sampson on the injured list and have designated pitcher David Carpenter for assignment.

While Heineman is primarily an outfielder, he is in the starting lineup today playing first base, and I am guessing he will get a fair amount of playing time against lefthanded pitchers while he is up. He spent roughly a week in the majors earlier this season between stints in the minors. Heineman missed the first couple of months of the year due to recuperating from shoulder surgery. He is slashing .340/.412/.553 for Nashville this year in 182 plate appearances.

Valdez is a righthanded pitcher who made his major league debut earlier this year, and had 9 appearances in the majors in 2019 for Texas with a 3.86 ERA in 11.1 IP, with 13 Ks against 6 walks. My guess is that he is up to give the Rangers an extra arm in the bullpen today, and if he isn’t used, he will be sent back down tonight to make room on the active roster for Brock Burke, the Game 1 starter in tomorrow’s doubleheader, and then recalled to be the 26th man in tomorrow’s doubleheader.

Sampson, who did solid work in rotation earlier this year, then struggled in the rotation, and then of late has been in the bullpen, is now on the 10 day injured list with back spasms. I would assume that, if they aren’t too serious, he will be back when rosters expand in September.

As for Carpenter, this is the second time the Rangers have brought him up briefly and then designated him for assignment this year. He has 3.1 IP in the majors in 4 games this year, and has basically been AAA depth. The Rangers will place him on waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, he can either become a free agent or accept an outright assignment.