Who Is Replacing Wyatt Langford On Texas Rangers Roster?

Rookie Wyatt Langford was placed on the 10-day injured list ahead of Monday's Texas Rangers series opener in Oakland. Infielder Jonathan Ornelas has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.

Mar 8, 2023; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Jonathan Ornelas / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Infielder Jonathan Ornelas was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to take Wyatt Langford's spot on the Texas Rangers' 26-man roster.

Langford was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 5) with a right hamstring strain he sustained during Saturday's game in Kansas City. He batted .224 with one home run and 11 RBI in 31 games this season.

The Rangers start a four-game series at the Oakland Athletics at 8:40 p.m. Monday, which includes a doubleheader on Wednesday. The Rangers road trip concludes with a three-game set against the Rockies in Denver on Friday.

Ornelas, 23, played in eight MLB games in 2023, going 1 for 7. With Round Rock, Ornelas is batting .278 with two homers and 11 RBI in 24 games. He's started 17 games at shortstop and seven games at second base. He played 18 games with the major league club in spring training, batting .240 with two doubles and two RBI before rejoining minor league camp on March 10.

Ornelas, the Rangers third-round pick (No. 91 overall) in the 2018 MLB Draft, also has experience playing center field and third base.

Langford, the No. 4 overall pick in July's MLB Draft, struggled at the plate before the injury. He was 9 for 52 in his past 15 games. Since a three-hit game on April 24, he was 3 for 28 with two RBI.

Veteran outfielder Derek Hill, who is batting .337 with eight doubles, six homers and 12 RBI, would have been an option but that would have required a 40-man roster move since Hill is not on the Rangers' 40-man.

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