Rangers recall right-handed pitchers Marc Church?and Daniel Robert from Triple-A Round Rock

Anaheim, Calif. — The Texas Rangers announced the following roster moves prior to Friday night’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium:

• Right-handed pitcher Marc Church (#68) recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
• Right-handed pitcher Daniel Robert recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
• Infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Duran activated from Paternity Leave List.
• Right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker optioned to Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Rangers.
• Right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter optioned to Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Rangers.
• Outfielder Sandro Fabian optioned to Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Rangers.

Church, 23, will be in his first career stint with Texas and he is seeking his Major League debut this weekend in Anaheim. He was announced as a scheduled Rangers participant in the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday. Church missed nearly four months this season on the Round Rock Injured List with a right shoulder strain, returning to the mound in August. Overall with Round Rock this season, he has a 1-1 record with one save and a 3.22 ERA (8 ER/22.1 IP), posting 7 walks against 24 strikeouts in 17 relief outings. Over his last 13 appearances for the Express since his return to Triple-A on August 15, he has a 3.06 ERA (6 ER/17.2 IP) with 4 walks and 19 strikeouts and just one home run allowed. Church was originally selected by Texas in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of North Atlanta (GA) High School.

Robert, 30, will be in his second career stint with the Rangers, as he posted no record and a 3.86 ERA (2 ER/4.2 IP) over 3 relief outings during his first stint from July 8-20. His last Major League outing was on July 20 vs. Baltimore (2.0 scoreless innings). He has spent the balance of the year at Round Rock, going 4-2 with 7 saves and a 2.70 ERA (13 ER/43.1 IP) over 35 relief appearances, posting 13 walks and 52 strikeouts. The Hoover, Ala. native was selected by Texas in the 21st round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Auburn University.

The 25-year-old Duran was originally placed on the Paternity Leave list on Tuesday. He has batted .253 (65-257) with 3 home runs, 11 doubles, and 20 RBI over 89 games/72 starts spanning two stints with Texas this season (Opening Day-June 25, July 29-current). Duran has appeared at every position other than pitcher and catcher in 2024, joining Danny Santana (2019) and Scott Sheldon (2000) as the only players in Rangers history (beg. 1972) to do so.

Rocker, 24, has gone 0-2, 3.86 ERA (5 ER/11.2 IP) with 14 strikeouts/6 walks over 3 appearances/starts for Texas this season, his first career Major League action. The club’s first-round selection (3rd overall) in the 2022 MLB Draft started for the Rangers in the team’s 3-2 defeat yesterday at Oakland, taking the loss after allowing 3 earned runs across 4.2 innings (7 H, 0 BB, 2 SO, 73 pitches/50 strikes). He was selected from Round Rock on September 12 and made his MLB debut in a start that night at Seattle as part of a 5-4 Texas victory (ND, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR).

Leiter, 24, has gone 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA (35 ER/35.2 IP) in 9 games/6 starts spanning five separate stints with Texas this season (April 18, May 8, May 14, Aug. 28, Sept. 2-26), his first career MLB action. He last appeared on Thursday at Oakland, firing 3.1 scoreless frames to finish Texas’ 3-2 loss to the A’s (2 H, 3 BB, 1 SO, 48 pitches/26 strikes).

The 26-year-old Fabian went 0-for-5 in 3 games/2 starts (both in left field) with Texas after he was selected from Round Rock on September 4 for his first-ever stint at the Major League level. He spent the balance of the campaign at Triple-A, batting .270/.343/.462/.805 (121-448) with 17 home runs, 31 doubles, and 81 RBI in 116 contests for the Express.

Following today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with six players on the 60-day Injured List: Evan Carter, Carson Coleman, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Corey Seager, Cole Winn.