Marco Gonzales's summer with the Rangers has turned into a revolving door. Texas designated the 34-year-old lefty for assignment again on Saturday, just a day after selecting his contract from Triple-A Round Rock, according to MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors).
This is the same song as three weeks ago. Gonzales was first DFA'd by Texas in late July after logging two relief appearances, cleared waivers, elected free agency, then re-signed a minor league deal that put him back in the organization's pipeline. He got recalled again on August 14, made exactly one appearance out of the bullpen, and was designated once more the very next day.
That lone outing wasn't a disaster, either. Gonzales came into the 8th inning with Texas trailing by 5 and got two outs on a single pitch, inducing a double-play grounder from Lawrence Butler. Across his stints with the big club this month he's allowed just 1 earned run over 6 innings, but a 7.70 ERA at Triple-A tells the real story of where his stuff is right now.
The corresponding move brings Jakob Junis back off the 15-day injured list, a needed lift for a Rangers bullpen that's been stretched thin with Nathan Eovaldi also on the IL and Jacob deGrom nursing a triceps issue. Texas recently got Jordan Montgomery back from the 60-day IL as well, so the pitching staff is basically being rebuilt on the fly during a playoff push.
For Gonzales, this is the second DFA of his brief second act in Texas, and it's fair to wonder how many more times the Rangers go back to that well. Once a reliable back-end starter, he missed all of 2025 with injury and has spent 2026 bouncing between the majors and Triple-A trying to prove there's still something left in the tank. If he clears waivers again, expect another minor league deal and another wait for the phone to ring.