The Rangers announced that first baseman Blaine Crim claimed off waivers by the Rockies. Crim was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, and is a right-hander Carter Baumler moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.
A 19th round pick by the Rangers in the 2019 draft, Crim spent his first six seasons in the Texas organization, and made his Major League debut in a Ranger uniform in 2025. Merrill Kelly to Arlington, and the Rockies then claimed Crim off waivers. Crim’s 2025 campaign ended with a .200/.270/.462 slash line and five home runs over 74 plate appearances and 20 combined games with Texas and Colorado.
This is still Crim’s full MLB start, as he started the season in the Rockies’ 10-day IL while recovering from an oblique strain and was optioned to Triple-A after the start. Colorado designated Crim to work earlier this week, and the 28-year-old now finds himself in the familiar surroundings of Round Rock.
Crim spent parts of the last five seasons at the Triple-A level, and hit .281/.370/.479 with 70 home runs over 1882 PA at the top of the minor league ladder. These impressive numbers come with the caveat that Crim’s entire Triple-A career was spent in the highly favored Pacific Coast League, and for his minor league career overall, Crim’s wRC+ is a relatively modest 113. Crim’s path to consistent MLB playing time was also hampered by becoming the starting cornerback after three years as the only cornerback. these are minor league days.
From the Rangers’ point of view, Crim is a known value depth option. He is also in the second of his three major league option years, giving Texas some flexibility in sending him back and forth from Triple-A if necessary.
Baumler was selected in the offseason Rule 5 draft, as the Pirates traded him out of the Orioles organization and dealt the right-hander to Texas. Baumler posted a 3.18 ERA despite recording as many walks as strikeouts (six on one) over 5 2/3 innings of relief in four appearances, which represented his first taste of Major League action. A strained right intercostal sent him to IL for 15 days in early April, and it’s now been nearly a month since Baumler’s rehab assignment was suspended due to injury.
The move to the 60-day IL now ensures that Baumler can’t return to the Rangers’ active roster until the first week of June at the earliest, and it could be much longer than that considering his pitching resume may have to be restarted from scratch. Rule 5 rules require Baumler to be on Texas’ active roster for at least 90 days this season, and if not, the Rangers will have to keep him on their 26-man roster for the rest of the 2027 campaign to legally secure his right in Baltimore.
