The Rangers game of musical chairs behind the plate continued on Tuesday when they reacquired Bobby Wilson from Detroit for pitcher Chad Bell.
Wilson, if you remember, was traded to Detroit this spring for catcher Bryan Holaday. Your head finished spinning yet? OK, then.
Now, the Rangers have three catchers in the mix in Wilson, Holaday and minor-league call-up Brett Nicholas. They designated veteran Chris Gimenez for assignment on Tuesday after Gimenez entered spring training as the No. 2 catcher before suffering an ankle injury and then a staph infection. He was on a rehab assignment in Double-A Frisco preparing to return to the Rangers when the deal was made on Tuesday.
Gimenez was awful at throwing out would-be base-stealers. Wilson isn't great, but he's better. Nicholas is probably a bit better than that, and Holaday is the best in that department.
Nicholas has performed admirably since his call-up and has an .891 OPS with a pair of homers and has been starting the majority of the Rangers' game over the last week.
In short, the catching situation is a mess with Robinson Chirinos on the disabled list for a few months after breaking his forearm early in the season.
What will the Rangers do as a corresponding move when Wilson rejoins the Rangers on Wednesday? It's anyone's guess, but they'll either option one of their catchers to the minors or send a relief pitcher down.
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Carrying three catchers isn't typical, but Jon Daniels told The Dallas Morning News it might be the best thing to do for the "medium-term". He might be right, and if they decide carry Wilson, Holaday and Nicholas, they'd likely option Phil Klein or Alex Claudio back to the minors. Time's a'tickin, and someone's Rangers tenure is on the clock.
