ARLINGTON, Texas — Former All-Star outfielder David Dahl was designated for assignment Monday by the rebuilding Texas Rangers, who added DJ Peters to their roster after getting the outfielder on a waiver claim from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Dahl hit .210 with four homers and 18 RBIs in his 63 games with the Rangers, who signed the 2019 National League All-Star for $2.7 million last winter. He was coming off right shoulder surgery then, and Colorado didn’t offer him a contract. The 27-year-old Dahl missed all of June for Texas with rib cage and upper back issues.
“We, over the past week, have really kind of defined where we are and where we’re going, and the opportunity to give at-bats to some of our young carry-forward pieces,” general manager Chris Young said. “I think we had determined that David is not going to be that moving forward and the decision was made to cut ties.”
The last-place Rangers before last week’s deadline traded All-Star slugger Joey Gallo, All-Star pitcher Kyle Gibson and closer Ian Kennedy.
Third-year Rangers manager Chris Woodward said the move with Dahl was performance-based, along with the opportunity to add Peters.
Woodward was the third-base coach for the Dodgers before taking the Texas job and is familiar with the 25-year-old Peters, who made his big league debut this season. He hit .192 with one homer in 18 games for the defending World Series champions.
“This kid’s talented,” Woodward said. “I know the kid personally, so I know this kid’s a worker. He plays hard, he plays with his hair on fire, he’s got a ton of talent. And I think it’s worth taking a chance.”
Peters should get a chance at more consistent playing time in Texas than he did with the title-contending Dodgers. The Rangers expected him to be available for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.
In need of pitching depth, Texas also Monday selected the contract of right-hander Jimmy Herget from Round Rock, and optioned right-hander Demarcus Evans to that Triple-A team after he pitched in two of the previous three games for the Rangers.
“We need a pitcher. D-Train’s has been pretty good since he’s been up,” Woodward said. “We let him know everything he’s done up to this point, he’s been a true professional through it all, worked hard. He’s done everything we’ve asked. And it wasn’t performance-based. It was just necessity at this point.”