Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the following transactions prior to Wednesday’s game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field:
- Catcher Tucker Barnhart (#18) contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock.
- Right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning designated for assignment.
Barnhart, 34, has hit .246/.354/.391/.745 (17-69) with 2 home runs, 4 doubles, 12 RBI, 10 walks, 16 strikeouts, and 10 runs scored in 20 games with Round Rock this year, making 18 starts at catcher (2 at designated hitter). He was signed by Texas to a minor league free agent contract with a Major League Spring Training invitation on 12/19/24, appearing in 14 Cactus League contests with the Rangers this spring and sporting a .310 (9-29) batting average. The left-handed hitter was assigned to Round Rock on March 26, where he has reached safely in 18 of his 20 games with the Express.
An 11-year Major League veteran, Barnhart has slashed .241/.318/.351/.669 (659-2736) with 53 home runs, 6 triples, 131 doubles, and 292 RBI in 912 career MLB games with Cincinnati (2014-2021), Detroit (2022), Chicago-NL (2023), and Arizona (2024). The two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipient (2017 + 2020 with CIN) accrued 7.1 dWAR (baseball-reference) from 2016-24, 5th most among Major League catchers in that span. An Indianapolis, Ind. native, Barnhart was originally selected by the Reds in the 10th round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Brownsburg (Ind.) High School.
The Rangers have seven days to trade, release, or outright Dunning to the minor leagues. The 30-year-old right-hander had his contract selected from Round Rock before Monday’s game and earned the save in Texas’ 15-2 win over the Athletics on Tuesday (3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO, 52 pitches/31 strikes). He has appeared in the Majors in each of the last 6 seasons, going 28-32 with a 4.36 ERA (279 ER/575.2 IP), 215 walks, and 520 strikeouts in 125 games/102 starts with Chicago-AL (2020) and Texas (2021-25).
With today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with three players (Cody Bradford, Jon Gray, Josh Sborz) on the 60-day Injured List.