Rangers Designate Austin Wynns For Assignment

The Rangers announced that catcher Danny Jansen has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Fellow backstop Austin Wynns has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. Texas also announced that left-hander Marco Gonzales, who was designated for assignment a few days ago, cleared outright waivers and then elected free agency.

Texas came into the year with Jansen and Kyle Higashioka as the catching duo. A right forearm strain put Jansen on the IL in June, at which point they put Elias Díaz on the roster. Wynns was with the Athletics and Atlanta earlier this year but became a free agent in June. The Rangers gave him a minor league deal at that time then called him up in July when Higashioka hit the IL with a flexor strain.

Díaz and Wynns have been the catching duo for almost a month now. In that time, Wynns got into 14 games and hit .276/.323/.379. When combined with his work for the other clubs he has played for this year, he has a .146/.195/.183 line for the season. The Rangers will now go with Jansen and Díaz behind the plate, so Wynns has been bumped off the roster. Wynns is out of options, so he has been sent into DFA limbo.

Since the trade deadline has passed, Wynns will be placed on waivers in the coming days. He’s not much of a threat from the batter’s box, with a career .230/.274/.344 line, but teams clearly like him as a backup/depth option based on his work while wearing the pads. This is his eighth big league season and he has suited up for eight teams. If he clears waivers, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

Gonzales was once a solid starter in the big leagues but he’s relegated to depth guy at the moment. He missed the 2025 season while recovering from flexor tendon surgery. This year, he has given the Rangers 6 2/3 innings of long relief work with a solid 1.35 earned run average, but he has a 7.70 ERA in 69 Triple-A innings. This is the second time Texas has designated him for assignment. In both instances, he has cleared waivers and elected free agency. Last time, he re-signed via a new minor league deal and could do the same in the coming days.