SAN FRANCISCO – A year ago, almost to the day, the Rangers promoted Bubba Thompson to the big leagues to give him a chance to develop. On Friday, they once again demonstrated their priorities have changed.
Development time is over. It’s winning time.
Rather than make the easy move to accommodate Travis Jankowski, who left for the weekend to attend to the birth of this third child, the Rangers made a potentially more permanent decision. They designated Thompson for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster, and replaced him with outfielder J.P. Martínez. Martínez started in left field and batted sixth against San Francisco Friday in his major league debut.
“We are trying to win,” GM Chris Young said bluntly when explaining the reason for the move. “[Martínez] is going to help us win. We love Bubba Thompson, the player and the person, but we are all in on winning this year and J.P. has had a tremendous season at Triple-A. He does a lot of things that complement our guys.”
He gets a chance to show the Rangers he could have value as a specialist for the playoff stretch and the postseason run. Martínez can do what Thompson does – defend and run – but also has put together a breakout offensive year at Triple-A Round Rock. Martínez, 27, was hitting .312 with a .993 OPS at Triple-A Round Rock and had 33 steals in 37 attempts.
While his stay could be short for now – Jankowski could be back as early as Monday – he would likely be back in September when rosters can be expanded by three players. And an extra speed/defense guy is a valuable playoff asset.
It could also spell the end of Thompson’s time with the organization. Before he can be outrighted off the major league roster to Triple-A, where he has been for the last week after a brief call-up, he’d have to clear waivers.
But Thompson, 25, simply could not take advantage of whatever chances he had. He began the season as one of the club’s two backup outfielders who was supposed to specialize in defense and pinch running. But Jankowski got off to a hot start and Thompson lost playing time and eventually his spot on the major league roster. He was hitting .170 in 60 plate appearances. s hitting .170 this season in 60 major league plate appearances.
Over the last five weeks, Martínez simply outplayed Thompson. Since July 1, Martínez had a .269/.369/.558/.927 slash line compared to .247/.345/.392/.737.
The decision also further underscores the Rangers’ willingness to move on from nearly a decade of first-round picks that did not pan out. Thompson was the Rangers’ first pick in 2017. Cole Ragans, traded to Kansas City for Aroldis Chapman in June was the first choice in 2016. From 2009 through 2018, the Rangers got 0.4 combined WAR from their top draft picks.
There is also a logjam of outfielders in the system that could render Thompson without a long-term role. The Rangers have multiple years of control on major league outfielders Adolis García and Leody Taveras. Their farm system is top-heavy in outfielders with No. 1 prospect Evan Carter and this year’s top draft choice Wyatt Langford both outfielders. In addition two of their other top 10 prospects – Anthony Gutierrez and Dustin Harris – are outfielders.
For a time it looked like Martínez might also be a high-profile minor leaguer bust. He was signed for $2.8 million out of Cuba in 2018 with a surplus of international money the Rangers had saved to pursue Shohei Ohtani. When Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels, Martínez became the consolation.
From 2018-22, he slashed a rather pedestrian .260/.350/.401/.751 in the minors. But, he said, at the end of last year, Rangers mental skills coaches David Franco and Hannah Huesman had spoken with him and he’d realized he spent too much time trying to live up to the buzz that accompanied his signing. They re-emphasized that again during spring training.
“I always knew I could play really well,” Martínez said Friday with help from interpreter Raul Cardenas. “I put a lot of pressure on myself though and it took away some of the pleasure. I had to go back to playing like I did when I was a kid – to having fun. Things have been much different this year. I’ve had more good energy. Getting this chance was a big moment.”
And now all he has to do is make something of it.
Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant
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