Austin Wynns is officially back on the open market. The 35-year-old catcher was designated for assignment by the Rangers last week after Texas activated Danny Jansen, and rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, Wynns exercised his right to elect free agency.
That right didn't come out of nowhere. Wynns has more than 5 years of MLB service time and has been outrighted before, both of which gave him the option to walk instead of riding buses in the minors again. It's the move almost any veteran in his spot makes when he's confident another club will call.
It's been a strange, well-traveled season for the backstop. Wynns bounced between the Athletics, Braves and Rangers in 2026, appearing in just 34 games and grabbing 89 plate appearances along the way, hitting a rough.146/.195/.183 across those stops. For a career.230/.274/.334 hitter over 871 big-league plate appearances with 8 different organizations, that's about as thin a offensive stretch as it gets, even for a guy who's never been paid to hit.
Wynns has always made his living behind the plate rather than in the box. He carries a career caught-stealing rate around 29%, and he was even better than that in 2025 at 40.7%. This year was uglier on that front too, throwing out just 4 of 28 attempted base stealers, which lines up with a season that's gone sideways in almost every direction for him.
None of that is likely to keep him unemployed for long. Catching depth is always in demand down the stretch, especially with injuries piling up around the league in August, and Wynns' resume as a defense-first, willing-to-DFA-and-clear veteran makes him an easy pickup for a club that just needs a body who can catch a bullpen and call a game. Expect a minor league deal, most likely as third-catcher insurance, to come together sooner rather than later.