Pozo signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Saturday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.
Pozo spent all of last season with Triple-A Las Vegas and put together a solid campaign, slashing .306/.338/.523 with 18 homers and 81 RBI. The 26-year-old backstop isn't listed on Oakland's 40-man roster, but Pozo could work his way back into the majors if he keeps hitting and Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom continue to struggle in the bigs.
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Athletics' Yohel Pozo: Enjoying another strong season
Rotowire
Pozo, who went 5-for-6 with four RBI and two runs in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Salt Lake on Tuesday, owns a .316 average and .859 OPS across 180 plate appearances over 42 games with the Aviators.
Pozo has had the good fortune of playing in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League for three seasons now, dating back to his time at Round Rock when he was with the Rangers organization. In fairness, the 26-year-old backstop has been impressive at the plate in most of his minor-league stops -- as well as in a 77-plate-appearance big-league stint back in 2021 -- during a professional career that dates back to 2016. However, with Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom at the big-league level, Pozo remains on the farm despite the current IL stints of veteran backups Manny Pina (wrist) and Carlos Perez (thumb).
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Athletics' Yohel Pozo: Dismissed from big-league camp
Rotowire
The Athletics reassigned Pozo to minor-league camp Monday.
Pozo joined the Athletics on a minor-league deal in December after he had spent the first 10 seasons of his professional career in the Rangers organization. The 25-year-old backstop appeared in 21 games at the big-league level in 2021 but played exclusively at Triple-A Round Rock in 2022, slashing .320/.352/.474 across 267 plate appearances. Pozo is expected to serve as organizational catching depth for the Athletics at Triple-A Las Vegas during the upcoming campaign.
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Athletics' Yohel Pozo: Invited to camp by A's
Rotowire
Pozo signed with Oakland as a non-roster invitee Tuesday, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN reports.
Pozo hit .284/.312/.378 as a rookie in 2021 but did not return to the majors in 2022. Pozo's profile is in some ways a less extreme version of fellow Venezuelan backstop Willians Astudillo, as he's difficult to strike out but doesn't do all that much else either at or behind the plate. He rode a 12.0 percent strikeout rate to a .320/.352/.474 slash line across 65 games for Triple-A Round Rock last season, though the inflated offensive environment meant that was only good enough for a 104 wRC+.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Cut from big-league camp
Rotowire
The Rangers reassigned Pozo to minor-league camp Monday.
Pozo posted a monstrous .962 OPS over 77 games at Triple-A Round Rock last season, but he wasn't nearly as successful in a smaller sample of action with the Rangers. Though his .284/.312/.378 in 77 plate appearances in Texas was only 10 percent worse than the MLB average, Pozo's lack of defensive utility likely played a factor in the Rangers non-tendering him over the winter. While Texas brought Pozo back on a minor-league deal, his lack of a 40-man roster spot may make it tougher for him to resurface with the big club in 2022.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Back with Rangers
Rotowire
Pozo signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Wednesday.
Pozo played 17 games at designated hitter and two at catcher while hitting .284/.312/.378 with one home run in 77 MLB plate appearances last season. He hit .337/.352/.622 with 23 home runs in 77 games as a 24-year-old at Triple-A, but his lack of defensive utility may limit his opportunities going forward.
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Yohel Pozo: Let go by Texas
Rotowire
Pozo was non-tendered by the Rangers on Tuesday.
Pozo made his big-league debut in 2021 and hit .284/.312/.378 in 21 games. He spent most of the campaign at Triple-A Rock Rock, where he found more offensive success with a .962 OPS and 23 homers.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Pozo was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Friday.
While Pozo had some impressive offensive performances since being recalled in mid-August, his .284/.312/.378 slash line while serving primarily as a designated hitter results in him being sent back to the minors. Andy Ibanez (hamstring) was activated from the 10-day injured list to take his spot on the 28-man roster.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Loses hold of primary DH role
Rotowire
Pozo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.
Pozo is on the bench for a second straight game, and with Willie Calhoun (forearm) returning from the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Pozo's time as the Rangers' primary designated hitter looks to be over. Following his Aug. 13 call-up from Triple-A Round Rock, Pozo went 4-for-8 with a home run and three RBI in his first two games, but he slashed a pedestrian .258/.292/.323 with no home runs, six RBI and seven runs in 16 contests thereafter.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Absent from Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Pozo is not starting Tuesday against Houston.
Pozo takes a seat after going 0-for-4 in Monday's loss. Nick Solak will DH as Yonny Hernandez shifts to second base Tuesday.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Day off in NL park
Rotowire
Pozo isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Pozo will be out of the lineup for a second straight game during the series finale in Arizona. Across his last seven appearances, the 24-year-old has hit .348 with a double, four runs and two RBI.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Runs hit streak to six
Rotowire
Pozo served as the designated hitter and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Monday's 4-0 win over the Angels.
Pozo extended a hit streak to six games, going 8-for-22 with one double, two RBI and four runs scored during that stretch. The catcher/DH has appeared in 14 games, 13 as the designated hitter. Pozo is one of several organizational prospects being evaluated during the final weeks of the season.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Pozo is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Angels.
A 1-for-3 performance Saturday raised Pozo's average to .216 with a double and three RBI in his last 10 games. DJ Peters is the designated hitter Sunday.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Riding pine Friday
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Pozo isn't starting Friday's game against the Angels.
Pozo was productive against the Rockies on Wednesday and went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, but he'll retreat to the bench Friday. Adolis Garcia will serve as the designated hitter while DJ Peters starts in right field.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Back on bench
Rotowire
Pozo is not starting Tuesday against the Rockies.
Pozo started each of the last three games and went 3-for-11 with a double and an RBI. He figures to see the majority of his playing time at designated hitter during the remainder of the season with catcher Jonah Heim returning from the COVID-19 IL on Tuesday.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Remains on bench
Rotowire
Pozo isn't starting Thursday's game against Cleveland.
Pozo will be excluded from the starting nine for the third time in the last four games. Andy Ibanez will serve as the designated hitter while Nick Solak starts at second base.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Out of lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Pozo isn't starting Wednesday's game against Cleveland.
Pozo went 0-for-5 in Tuesday's series opener against Cleveland, and he'll retreat to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Adolis Garcia will serve as the designated hitter while Leody Taveras starts in center field.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Not starting Monday
Rotowire
Pozo is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.
Pozo has started seven of nine games since his mid-August debut, but he hasn't done much yet at the plate, hitting .231/.286/.346. Andy Ibanez will take his usual spot as the designated hitter Monday, with Nick Solak starting at second base.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Not starting Thursday
Rotowire
Pozo will hit the bench for Thursday's game against Seattle.
Pozo started five straight games as the designated hitter after being promoted Friday. He grabbed two hits in both of his first two games but has gone hitless in 11 at-bats since then. Andy Ibanez will serve as the designated hitter in his absence.
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Rangers' Yohel Pozo: Starting again at DH
Rotowire
Pozo will serve as the Rangers' designated hitter and bat sixth Sunday against the Athletics.
Pozo will be getting his third straight start after opening his big-league career by going 4-for-8 with a home run and three RBI. The 24-year-old had been battering Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .943 OPS prior to receiving a call-up from Round Rock on Friday, so look for the Rangers to give him an extended trial as their everyday designated hitter.
