Rangers designate base-stealing outfielder for assignment

The Rangers announced they’ve designated outfielder Bubba Thompson for assignment. The move opens room on the 40-man for J.P. Martínez, who was officially selected onto the big league roster. Travis Jankowski was placed on the paternity list to clear an active roster spot for Martínez.

A former first-round pick, Thompson reached the majors last August after five minor league campaigns. An elite runner, Thompson had stolen 49 bases and was caught just thrice for Triple-A Round Rock last season. He hit .265 and stole 18 more bags in 55 big league contests down the stretch, but that came with a modest .302 on-base percentage and well below-average .312 slugging mark.

Last year’s decent batting average was built on a massive .389 average on balls in play, as Thompson struck out at an alarming 30.9% clip. As one of the league’s fastest players, he’s likely to run a BABIP higher than the .297 league average. Yet hitting nearly .400 on balls in play consistently is a tall task for anyone.

Likely anticipating some regression in his offensive production, Texas signed Robbie Grossman to take primary left field duties. Jankowski has been very good in a fourth outfield role, leaving Thompson to tally only 60 MLB plate appearances over 37 games. He struggled to a .170/.237/.283 line in that scattershot playing time. While he improved his strikeout and walk numbers marginally, Thompson only made contact on 61.5% of his swings — a rate topped by every qualified hitter around the league.

Thompson’s production in Triple-A has also taken a step back. Despite carrying solid walk and strikeout marks at the top minor league level, he’s hitting .260/.362/.378 through 149 plate appearances at Round Rock. He’s gone 16-of-18 on stolen bases but has only two homers in 32 games after connecting on 13 longballs in 80 Triple-A contests a season ago.

While the 25-year-old Thompson is clearly still a work in progress offensively, he has some standout skills that could intrigue another club. There are few more effective baserunners. Thompson has stolen 22 bases in 27 attempts at the MLB level and has been successful at a huge 83.2% clip in his minor league career. That standout speed gives him the ability to play all three outfield spots, but he’s spent most of his MLB time in left field.

Texas has no choice but to put Thompson on waivers within the next week. It seems fairly likely he’ll be claimed. Another team willing to carry him on the 40-man roster could keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future. Thompson is in his first of three minor league option seasons.