Rangers add former Mets slugger on minor-league deal

The Texas Rangers announced on Sunday that they have signed veteran first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The agreement, finalized on Canha’s 37th birthday, expands Texas’ spring roster to 66 players, comprised of the full 40-man roster and 26 non-roster invitees.

Canha is coming off a difficult 2025 season with the Kansas City Royals, where he hit .212/.272/.265 in 46 games. He made two trips to the injured list, first for an adductor strain and later for an elbow injury, before being released in mid-August after Kansas City added Mike Yastrzemski, Adam Frazier, and Randal Grichuk at the trade deadline. He did not sign with another club before the season ended.

Last season’s downturn aside, Canha adds the perspective of 11 MLB seasons and 1,095 career appearances. He owns a career slash line of .248/.346/.409 with 121 home runs and 465 RBIs.

Originally a seventh-round pick of the Florida Marlins in 2010, Canha debuted in 2015 with the Athletics and spent seven seasons there, batting .244/.344/.431 with 89 home runs and 294 RBIs.

Canha joined the New York Mets on November 30, 2021, signing a two-year, $26.5 million contract with an option for a third year. During the 2022 season, he hit .266/.367/.403 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 140 games. He also reached the 100-homer milestone against the Los Angeles Dodgers and hit his first career grand slam versus the Miami Marlins. He led MLB in hit-by-pitches for the second straight year with 28 in 2022, after pacing the league with 27 in 2021, and has been plunked 141 times over his career.

In 2023, Canha produced a .245/.343/.381 line with six home runs over 89 games before being traded on July 31 to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Justin Jarvis. He then hit .287/.373/.427 with five homers, 33 RBIs, and four steals in 50 games for Milwaukee.

In 2024, with the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants, Canha hit .242/.344/.346 with a 101 wRC+. Against left-handers, he turned in a 123 wRC+ that season. Historically, he has reached the 20-home run mark once (2019), but his on-base performance has been a constant strength.

If he earns a roster spot with the Rangers, it would be his seventh MLB team. Canha will compete for a bench role against options including Ezequiel Duran, Cody Freeman, Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman, Justin Foscue, Nick Pratto, and Jonah Bride.

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