Rangers Designate Marco Gonzales For Assignment

The Rangers activated Jakob Junis from the 15-day IL before Saturday’s matchup against the Athletics. Junis will take the spot of left-hander Marco Gonzales, who was designated for assignment. Texas now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

Gonzales had his contract selected yesterday. He was about as efficient as possible in his lone outing. The lefty entered in the eighth inning against the A’s with a five-run deficit. He got two outs on one pitch, coaxing a double-play grounder from Lawrence Butler to end the frame.

This will be Gonzales’ second trip through the DFA process with the Rangers. He was bumped off the roster after two appearances in late July. Gonzales elected free agency after passing through waivers, only to sign a new minor league deal with Texas. There’s a decent chance it goes the same way this time around. We could be looking at a Martin Perez/Braves situation.

Gonzales allowed one earned run over six innings in his first stint with the Rangers. It marked his return to the majors after spending all of 2025 recovering from elbow surgery. The 34-year-old struggled to a 7.70 ERA during his time at Triple-A with the Padres and Rangers this year.

The Rangers needed some length in the bullpen with Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day IL and Jacob deGrom nursing a triceps injury. deGrom will play catch tomorrow before a decision is made regarding whether he can make his next scheduled start on Wednesday, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. The club recently activated Jordan Montgomery from the 60-day IL. He covered two innings after deGrom left early on Thursday. Montgomery would be a candidate to step into the rotation.

The return of Junis will be a nice boost for a Rangers bullpen without many proven options behind breakout closer Jacob Latz. Junis comfortably leads the team with 14 holds. He’s also chipped in five saves.

Junis was a multi-inning option in the first few years after he transitioned to the bullpen. He’s been a more traditional high-leverage arm in Texas. The righty has recorded more than three outs just five times in 36 appearances, and most of those instances came early in the year. Junis hasn’t pitched multiple innings since early June.