West Sacramento, Calif. — The Texas Rangers today announced the following transactions prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park:
- Shortstop Corey Seager placed on the 10-day Injured List (right hamstring strain).
- Infielder Nick Ahmed (#23) contract selected from Arizona Complex League Rangers.
- Left-handed pitcher Walter Pennington, currently on option with the Arizona Complex League Rangers, designated for assignment.
Seager, 30, suffered the injury while running to first base following his plate appearance in the top of the 6th inning during Tuesday night’s game at the Athletics and was replaced defensively by Josh Smith in the bottom of the 6th. The shortstop had started 21 of Texas’ first 23 games this season (20 at SS, 1 at DH), hitting .286 (22-77) with 4 home runs, 2 doubles, 6 RBI, 7 walks, a .345 on-base percentage, a .468 slugging percentage, and an .813 OPS. In his last 12 games since April 8, the left-handed hitter had slashed .370/.420/.609/1.029 with a team-high 17 hits and 3 home runs during that span.
Ahmed, 35, is seeking to appear in a Major League game for the 12th consecutive season (beg. 2014), first with Texas following stints with Arizona (2014-23), San Francisco (2024), Los Angeles-NL (2024), and San Diego (2024). The middle infielder was re-signed to a minor league contract by the Rangers on April 9 after he was released by Texas on March 22. He was previously inked by Texas to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League camp on February 4 and batted .324/.361/.647/1.008 (11-34) with 3 home runs, 2 doubles, 8 RBI, and a team-leading 10 runs scored over 15 Cactus League ‘A’ games with the Rangers this spring.
A two-time National League Gold Glove award winner at shortstop (2018-19 with Arizona), Ahmed has logged a career .978 fielding percentage (80 E/3665 TC) over 854 starts at shortstop – the 4th-most starts at SS in the N.L. since 2014, trailing only Brandon Crawford (1230), Dansby Swanson (1123), and Trea Turner (986). Ahmed has accrued 79 career ‘defensive runs saved’ (Fangraphs), tied for the 10th most among all MLB defenders since 2014. The right-handed batter and thrower carries a .234/.287/.371/.657 slash line with 72 home runs and 339 RBI in 959 career games with Arizona (2014-23), San Francisco (2024), Los Angeles-NL (2024), and San Diego (2024). A native of East Longmeadow, Mass., Ahmed was originally selected by Atlanta in the 2nd round of the 2011 MLB Draft from the University of Connecticut.
The Rangers have seven days to trade, release, or outright Pennington to the minor leagues. He has not seen official game action in 2025. Over 4 games in Cactus League play for Texas this spring, the southpaw posted no record and a 6.75 ERA (3 ER/4.0 IP) with no walks and 2 strikeouts before he was optioned to minor league camp on March 9. He was originally acquired by Texas from Kansas City in exchange for RHP Michael Lorenzen on July 29, 2024. In 16 career Major League games/one start with Kansas City (2024) and Texas (2024), the left-hander owns a 1-0 record, 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) and 17 strikeouts/11 walks.
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.