Nick

Ahmed

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.

Ahmed seems like a perfect fit for the Rangers as an emergency bench option at the outset of next season with superstar shortstop Corey Seager coming off sports hernia surgery. The 34-year-old veteran remains a certifiable defensive wizard at this stage of his career, but he offers next to nothing from an offensive standpoint after slashing just .232/.278/.303 with one homer and one steal in 172 plate appearances over 52 contests last year between the Padres and Dodgers.

Ahmed will end up playing for four NL West teams. It’s probably too late to join Colorado. The veteran infielder will provide some infield depth for the final week of the 2024 campaign.

Ahmed elected free agency after being outrighted by the Dodgers near the end of August, and the 34-year-old will instead join their division rivals. Ahmed went 11-for-48 in his brief sample with Los Angeles, and he could be a defensive replacement for the Padres before 2024 comes to a close.

Ahmed will test the free agent waters after going unclaimed on waivers following his removal from Los Angeles’ 40-man roster earlier this week. The 34-year-old shortstop went 11-for-48 with one extra-base hit in 17 games for the Dodgers. He would make sense as a late-game defensive replacement on a contending roster.

Ahmed went 11-for-48 with one extra-base hit and one walk for the Dodgers, though he was never in there for his bat. Including his time with the Giants, he’s hit .232/.271/.300 overall in 221 at-bats this year. Still, someone might want him as a surehanded backup at short.