Cameron Cauley is making a strong case at exactly the right time.
With the Rangers set to expand their roster to 28 players on Sept. 1, the club is expected to add a position player and a pitcher. Logan O’Hoppe had been in line to be that position player, but Texas brought him up on Sunday after deciding it needed more offense in the lineup. That leaves Cauley, who just earned Pacific Coast League player of the week honors, pushing his way back into the conversation.
Cauley won the award for Aug. 17-23 after a big week for Triple-A Round Rock in El Paso. He hit .407 with four home runs, three doubles, 10 RBI, four walks and four stolen bases. He also showed off the kind of defensive flexibility that keeps him on the Rangers’ radar, spending time at third base, center field, left field, second base and shortstop.
That versatility matters with Texas still waiting on third baseman Josh Jung, who remains on the injured list and is not expected back before September. The Rangers have also been shifting players such as Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman around the field, and they need a right-handed bat to pair with left-handed hitting center fielder Evan Carter.
The hot week came on the heels of a season-long run that has kept Cauley in the mix. He was a non-roster invite to Major League spring training and made a strong impression, though not enough to win an opening-day job.
Back in Round Rock, he has hit .273/.370/.450 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI. He also leads the PCL with 34 stolen bases and has not been caught in any of his 34 attempts, the best mark in the minor leagues this season.
Texas has already seen what Cauley can do in the big leagues. In 28 games with the Rangers, he hit .207/.281/.345 with a home run and an RBI while playing second base, shortstop, center field and right field.
The timing is working in his favor. Chris Young and the Rangers’ staff are weighing their options as they look to best position themselves in the American League West, and Cauley’s recent surge gives them another reason to consider bringing him back when the roster opens up next week.
In Other News...
Rangers May Have Just Created A Bigger Logan O'Hoppe Win
When the Rangers brought Logan OHoppe back up from Round Rock, they got a quick reminder of why he mattered in the first place. The catcher-turned-DH stepped into the lineup and immediately contributed, picking up a hit and scoring a run in his first game back after spending time in Triple-A, where he had settled in nicely over 18 games.
The bigger win may have come before he ever returned to Texas. By sending OHoppe to Round Rock after acquiring him, the Rangers were able to slow the clock on his MLB service time, a move that gives the club an extra season of control and keeps him under team control through 2029 instead of 2028. For a team trying to build both now and later, that kind of maneuver can matter just as much as what happens in the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Finally Woke Up At The Plate When They Needed It Most
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Corey Seager led the charge with three hits and three RBIs, a needed centerpiece for an offense that had struggled to find rhythm. The victory moved Texas back to .500 and into first place in the American League West, though the early portion of the game had a little more chaos than the final score might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Montgomery Is Forcing A Rangers Decision That Suddenly Matters
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Texas has been piecing together its pitching plans carefully, and that makes Montgomerys recent run feel more important than just a nice post-injury tune-up. With Jack Leiter and Nathan Eovaldi both sidelined, the Rangers are having to think series by series about how to line up the staff, and Montgomery is making it harder to keep him in a temporary lane if he keeps looking this sharp. [Read more 🡒]