Rangers claim OF Dairon Blanco off waivers from the Royals and place Jordan Montgomery on 60-day IL

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers claimed outfielder Dairon Blanco off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on Sunday and placed left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the 60-day injured list to make room for the 32-year-old Cuban on the roster.

Blanco, who was designated for assignment by Kansas City last week, batted .257 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 171 career major league games over four seasons. He has stolen 59 bases in 73 tries, and his 64 appearances as a pinch-runner since 2022 is the most in the majors.

Blanco batted .253 and stole 32 bases in Triple-A Omaha last season.

The Rangers signed Montgomery to a one-year deal last month while he recovers from a second elbow reconstruction surgery. A member of the Rangers’ only World Series championship in 2023, the lefty went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular-season games for the Rangers after he was acquired at the trade deadline.

He won two games in the AL Championship Series, including the Game 7 clincher at Houston. He then left in free agency and signed with the Diamondbacks, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA in 2024 before missing all of last season.

Over eight big league seasons with the New York Yankees, St. Louis, Texas and Arizona, Montgomery is 46-41 with a 4.03 ERA in 166 games.

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