Fontana was released by the Rangers on Tuesday, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
He hit .167 with three home runs in 34 games at Triple-A this year. At 28 years old, he may struggle to latch on elsewhere.
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Rangers' Nolan Fontana: Inks minors deal with Texas
Rotowire
Fontana signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Wednesday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
Fontana spent most of the 2018 campaign with Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .234/.397/.414 in 45 games. He also saw some brief action with the Angels, though he hit just .091/.167/.364 in 12 plate appearances. Fontana figures to serve as organizational infield depth for the Rangers.
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Nolan Fontana: Cut loose by Angels
Rotowire
Fontana was released by the Angels on Tuesday.
Fontana appeared in just eight games for the Angels this season, going 1-for-11 with a walk and a homer. He was cut loose to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Joe Hudson, whose contract was purchased from the minors Tuesday.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Sent back down to Salt Lake
Rotowire
Fontana was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reports.
Fontana only spent one day with the Angels during his most recent appearance in the big leagues. The infielder will return to the minors for the time being, though it's likely he will continue to get shipped back and forth between the two levels in order to provide extra depth.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Called up from Salt Lake
Rotowire
Fontana was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Fontana will join the Angels in Boston, marking his third cup of coffee with the team this season. The infielder has played in eight games, going 1-for-11 with a solo home run during his brief opportunity in the big leagues. Look for him to supply a little additional depth moving forward, though it's highly unlikely that he will make much of an impact.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Fontana was sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Fontana was no longer needed as Andrelton Simmons returned from his ankle injury. Fontana has just one hit in 11 at-bats for the Angels this season, though the hit was a homer.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Pops first homer Wednesday
Rotowire
Fontana went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Mariners.
He entered the game for Zack Cozart (shoulder) in the fourth inning and stroked his first homer of the season. Fontana only has two big-league hits in 31 career plate appearances, but both of them have left the yard. If Cozart's injury proves to be serious, Fontana could find himself in a platoon with David Fletcher at shortstop until Andrelton Simmons (ankle) is healthy.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Recalled from Salt Lake
Rotowire
Fontana was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.
Fontana will provide a little extra infield depth with both Andrelton Simmons and Kaleb Cowart on the disabled list due to ankle injuries. Through 21 games with Salt Lake this season, Fontana has hit .282 with a .929 OPS and 11 extra-base hits. Don't expect to see him receive any meaningful playing time unless a couple more Angels go down with injuries.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Comes off 7-day DL
Rotowire
Fontana (undisclosed) returned from the 7-day disabled list and went hitless in four at-bats in Triple-A Salt Lake's 6-4 loss to Albuquerque.
Fontana had been sidelined for just over a month with the injury. The 26-year-old is expected to handle a near-everyday role for Salt Lake this season, but he'll likely serve as a utility man if he should receive a promotion to the big club at any point.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Placed on disabled list
Rotowire
Fontana was placed on the minor-league disabled list with an undisclosed injury, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Fontana was up with the Angels for a brief period early in the season but just made two pinch-hit appearances. He was 2-for-23 with nine walks for Triple-A Salt Lake before heading to the disabled list.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Angels optioned Fontana to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Fontana was called up to the majors at the end of March when Ian Kinsler (groin) was placed on the 10-day disabled list, but only appeared as a pinch hitter, going 0-for-2. Ryan Schimpf replaces the 26-year-old on the Angels' 25-man roster.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Called up to big leagues
Rotowire
Fontana was called up to the majors Saturday to replace the injured Ian Kinsler (groin), Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Fontana figures to remain in the big leagues for at least the 10 days that Kinsler is required to remain on the disabled list, and it's unclear if Kinsler will need additional time beyond that. Fontana could start occasionally in Kinsler's place, though the Angels are likely to slide Zack Cozart over from third, with Luis Valbuena and Jefry Marte receiving starts at third base. If Fontana ends up with unexpected playing time this season, he could be worth a flyer in deep OBP leagues, as he posted a 16.6 percent walk rate at Triple-A Salt Lake last season, though he doesn't do much else to help fantasy owners.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Sent down to Triple-A
Rotowire
Fontana was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.
The Angels trimmed their roster with a round of cuts Thursday, optioning four other players alongside Fontana. Both Fontana and Kaleb Cowart were battling for a utility role, but now it seems Jefry Marte is the leading candidate to win that job after this round of cuts. Fontana struggled at the dish all spring, slashing .100/.250/.200, but his defensive versatility could help him make his way up to the Angels later in the season.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Returns in minor-league game
Rotowire
Fontana (shoulder) returned from injury by playing in a Triple-A game against the Brewers on Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register.
Fontana had missed the majority of spring training up until this point dealing with shoulder inflammation. With the Angels restocking their infield this offseason, there was little chance the 26-year-old would have made the Opening Day roster, even as a backup. It would likely take an injury to open up a spot for the utility infielder.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Sidelined with shoulder inflammation
Rotowire
Fontana hasn't participated in any Cactus League games since Feb. 27 while dealing with right shoulder inflammation, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The Angels are hopeful that Fontana will resume throwing soon, but it may be too late for the 26-year-old to make a run at a bench role on the Opening Day roster. At this stage in camp, Luis Valbuena and Kaleb Cowart look like the frontrunners to claim reserve gigs in the infield.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Called up by Angels
Rotowire
Fontana was recalled by the Angels on Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
A second-round pick in 2012, Fontana fared far better with Salt Lake than he did with the Astros' Triple-A affiliate in 2016, nearly tripling his wRC+ from a year ago. The 26-year-old has displayed great patience at the dish throughout his minor-league career as well as decent speed and some emerging pop, but with Brandon Phillips coming aboard via a waiver trade, there simply doesn't seem to be a path to regular at-bats for Fontana.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Headed back to minors
Rotowire
Fontana was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.
Fontana only managed to collect one hit during his cup of coffee in the big leagues, so he was an obvious choice to ship back to the minors to make room for Tuesday's starter Parker Bridwell. Fontana could be back on the shuttle to the big leagues soon if he continues to walk nearly 15 percent of the time with the Bees, however.
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Angels' Nolan Fontana: Draws second consecutive start
Rotowire
Fontana will start at second base and bat eighth Sunday against the Marlins.
Since being called up to the big leagues Monday, Fontana has recorded only one hit in 11 at-bats, but he'll still benefit from his second start in a row with everyday second baseman Danny Espinosa in the midst of an extended slump. Once either Fontana or Espinosa is able to find some success at the plate, that player could end up taking on the bulk of the starts at the keystone.
Fontana was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.
He'll replace C.J. Cron on the active roster, giving the Angels some more versatility around the infield. Fontana has carried a .374 on-base percentage over 166 plate appearances with Salt Lake this season, but it's uncertain that he'll receive an opportunity to put his offensive skills on display during his stint with the Angels. He may just be asked to play a depth role at multiple infield spots.
