Who knew there could be such a demand for a utility infielder batting .191?
The demand for Adam Rosales seems to be limited to the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics, who have bounced the poor guy between them like leftover sweet potatoes that no one wants to take home on Thanksgiving. You take him! No, you take him!
Previously, Rosales was best known for being robbed of a home run back in May against the Cleveland Indians. That is surely no longer the case.
This all started when the A's designated Rosales for assignment and put him on waivers on July 31. On Aug. 2, the Rangers claimed Rosales off waivers. He never appeared in a game for Texas, however, and was again designated for assignment when the Rangers needed to reshuffle their roster in light of Nelson Cruz's 50-game PED suspension.
Oakland then took the opportunity to bring Rosales back, claiming him off waivers on Aug. 8. The next night, Rosales appeared in a game versus Toronto as a pinch-runner and took over at shortstop for Jed Lowrie. He grounded out to shortstop in his only plate appearance. That was apparently all the A's needed to see, as they once again DFA'ed Rosales.
Seizing the opportunity to fill a roster spot and add a utility infielder when Alex Rios was acquired (eliminating the need for platoon outfielder Joey Butler), Texas snapped Rosales off waivers again on Monday. He is once again on the Rangers roster, though you have every reason to believe that could change by the time you're done reading this post.
"Adam is a quality big league infielder,” Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters, including the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant. “We’ve always liked the way he goes about the game, and the energy he brings. As our circumstances have changed over the past week or so, it changed our ability to carry him. We’re glad to get a second chance at it.”
Well, OK — but is it all right if we check back in a few days to see if Rosales is still on the Texas roster? Or should we just presume he'll be back with the A's shortly? As Grant reported, the Rangers will have to make a roster move when Lance Berkman is activated from the disabled list on Friday. Who looks like the mostly likely guy to clear a spot for him?
On the bright side for Rosales, his car is in Arlington, according to John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News. So at least he has some of his belongings back in his possession. At this point, Rosales might be sleeping in that car, unsure as to which city he'll be in and which team he'll play for in the very near future.
In the meantime, the well-traveled (among two teams) infielder is counting down the days until major-league rosters can be expanded.
Adam Rosales tells me by phone, "I can't wait for September." That's when rosters expand. #Athletics #Rangers
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 12, 2013
