Nick

Ahmed

Ahmed, 35, made the announcement on his social media accounts. He was considered one of the best defensive players in the sport, and he was a solid offensive option in the latter part of the previous decade for the Diamondbacks. He retires after accumulating 725 hits, 72 homers and 44 stolen bases over 12 seasons.

The 35-year-old shortstop declined his outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock and will instead explore opportunities on the open market. Ahmed is still an elite defender and could attract interest as a reserve infielder and veteran presence on a team that has been hit hard by injuries.

The 35-year-old infielder went 0-for-9 with a 3/1 K/BB ratio and one stolen base during his brief time with the Rangers. The club needed to open a spot on their 40-man roster to promote Blaine Crim on Friday and unfortunately that made Ahmed the odd-man out. Given his defensive prowess, he’s a player that could catch another team’s attention on waivers.

Ahmed remains a certifiable defensive wizard, but he’s pretty much a non-factor from an offensive standpoint at this advanced stage of his career. The 35-year-old journeyman shortstop gets the call to the majors as an emergency stopgap for the Rangers with Corey Seager (hamstring) hitting the injured list.

Ahmed will head to Triple-A Round Rock as emergency infield depth. The 35-year-old defensive standout spent spring training with the Rangers, but wound up being released in late March after failing to make the club’s season-opening roster.

Ahmed was reassigned to minor league camp Saturday, but now he’s a free agent. The veteran infielder will look for a spot that could offer some MLB action, but he may not find many suitors. It just takes one.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds that Ahmed and Barnhart are still weighing the possibility of opting out of their minor league deals to hit free agency. There are no real surprises here among the latest batch of cuts, but Osuna stands out since he made a really strong impression this spring to put himself in position as an option for the Rangers outfield mix at some point later this year.

Ahmed smacked a leadoff single off of Robbie Ray in the fifth inning, swiped second base and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Marcus Semien. He then led off the seventh with a single and raced around to score the go-ahead run on Tucker Barnhart’s RBI double. With his two-hit attack, the 34-year-old infielder is now hitting .333 (7-for-21) with three homers, eight RBI and a stolen base in Cactus League play. He’s making a strong case for inclusion on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster.

That’s more homers than Ahmed has hit in either of the last two major league seasons. (He had two in 198 PA in 2023, and two in 210 PA in 2024.) Ahmed is competing for a bench spot that probably doesn’t exist at the moment. Perhaps the Rangers could carry him and send down Ezequiel Duran, but that’s not the current plan. Josh Smith is already set to function as the primary utilityman.

Corey Seager’s durability concerns make Ahmed the ideal break glass in case of emergency stopgap solution to stash away at Triple-A Round Rock. The 34-year-old veteran remains an elite level defender at shortstop, but offers virtually nothing at the dish.