Twenty-one-year-old Jorge Alfaro split last season between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco.
The Rangers added four minor-league players to their 40-man roster on Thursday in order to protect them ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place Dec. 11 at the MLB winter meetings in San Diego.
Catcher Jorge Alfaro, infielder Hanser Alberto and pitchers Jerad Eickhoff and Luke Jackson were all added to the active roster for Texas, and each could get an extended look when the team assembles for Cactus League action in Arizona next spring.
In a series of related roster moves, outfielder Dan Robertson was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci was designated for assignment, and pitchers Miles Mikolas and Aaron Poreda were placed on unconditional release waivers.
Alfaro, 21, is the most highly-touted among the quartet joining the active roster, ranking just behind infielder Rougned Odor in Baseball America’s list of the Rangers’ Top 10 prospects heading into last season.
In 121 games between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco, Alfaro batted .261 with 17 home runs and 87 runs batted in, and he threw out 25 of 88 attempted base-stealers from behind the plate.
The Colombian backstop is likely to begin next season with Frisco or Triple-A Round Rock, which means Texas will seek another catcher via trade or free agency this winter to share time with starter Robinson Chirinos.
Twenty-two-year-old Hanser Alberto also split the 2014 campaign between Myrtle Beach and Frisco, hitting .273 with 21 doubles and 16 stolen bases while seeing most of his playing time at shortstop.
Jerad Eickhoff, 24, led all Double-A hurlers with 144 strikeouts last season to go with a 10-9 record and an earned run average of 4.08, and he finished among the Texas League leaders with a 1.17 WHIP and 154-plus innings pitched.
Luke Jackson, 23, posted a combined record of 9-5 across 26 appearances (24 starts) between Frisco and Round Rock last year, and he tossed a scoreless inning as a starting pitcher in the Texas League All-Star Game in June.
Trio Signed to Minor-League Deals
Texas signed three players last week to minor-league contracts, two of which include invites to big-league spring training in Arizona: catcher Chris Gimenez, right-hander David Martinez and left-hander Efrain Nieves (no invite).
The 31-year-old Gimenez spent most of last season in the Rangers’ organization before he was traded to Cleveland for cash considerations in August. He saw action at catcher and first base and even pitched a scoreless inning as part of a blowout loss to the Angels.
Martinez, 27, made seven appearances out of the Houston bullpen across the past two seasons, spending most of that time as a reliever and occasional starter for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Nieves, meanwhile, has spent his entire career in the Milwaukee and Toronto organizations, going 3-5 with a 2.29 earned run average last year in 44 games for High-A Dunedin.
Guzman Involved in Fatal Crash
First base prospect Ronald Guzman was involved in a fatal automobile accident this week in the Dominican Republic, and he will be ordered to stay in the country until the investigation is complete.
The 20-year-old Guzman was behind the wheel of his sport utility vehicle early Tuesday morning when he collided with a motorcyclist, who was killed in the crash. Guzman was not injured.
Guzman has seen his production decline over the past two seasons after a strong rookie campaign in the Arizona League in 2012, batting just .218 for High-A Hickory last year with 107 strikeouts against 37 walks.
Nate's Notes 
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