DJ Peters claimed off waivers by Rangers

Outfielder DJ Peters is the latest to ride the California-to-Texas pipeline, claimed off waivers by the Rangers on Monday.

Peters was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Thursday to make room on the 40-man roster for pitcher Danny Duffy, who was acquired from the Royals.

Peters, a fourth-round draft pick in 2016 who played high school in Glendora, about a half-hour from Dodger Stadium, made his major league debut for the Dodgers on April 23. He struggled in his three stints in the majors this season, with five hits in 26 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run, the latter hit on May 27.

He’s one of 12 players drafted and signed by the Dodgers in 2016 to play in the majors.

Peters struck out 14 times in his 34 major league plate appearances, but also walked eight times, though four of those were intentional free passes while batting eighth, with the pitcher on deck.

He also struggled in the minors, hitting .233/.319/.372 with four home runs in 50 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, in a league averaging 5.88 runs per game. Triple-A West as a league is hitting .271/.352/.470. His strikeout rate in the minors improved this year, at 28.4 percent in Triple-A, after 31 percent in 2019 and 34.3 percent in 2018.

The Rangers added Peters to their active roster Monday night, though he did not play against the Angels.

The Dodgers-to-Rangers pipeline has been busy since December, when Texas selected Brett de Geus in the Rule 5 draft. De Geus has since moved on to Arizona, but other designated Dodgers found their way to Texas this year — Josh Sborz by trade in February, Dennis Santana via trade in June, and now Peters on a waiver claim.