The Rangers have confronted loads of questions on their outfield combine all through the spring, as each Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been slowed by indirect points. Whereas each prevented a critical harm, Langford has solely just lately returned to recreation motion and Garcia is additional behind. Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning Information reported earlier on Sunday that Garcia resumed swinging a bat, placing each gamers in place to be prepared for Opening Day on March 27.
That leaves the outfield corners roughly settled, with Langford and Garcia anticipated to patrol left and proper area regularly respectively. Heart area stays one thing of a query mark, nonetheless. The membership has each Evan Carter and Leody Taveras on the roster as strong choices, and given his prospect pedigree it appears doubtless that Carter would have a leg up in terms of common enjoying time. With that being stated, the membership’s plans for middle area stay very a lot up within the air due primarily to each Carter and Taveras struggling in opposition to left-handed pitching. Carter has hit simply .081/.150/.081 in opposition to southpaws up to now in his younger MLB profession, and the switch-hitting Taveras’s .189/.270/.244 line final season wasn’t way more inspiring.
With no clear choice in middle area in opposition to lefties, it appears more and more doubtless the membership may look to discover a approach to get both Kevin Pillar or Sam Haggerty onto the roster. Each Pillar and Haggerty are in camp as non-roster invitees however have strong monitor data in opposition to left-handed pitching and a capability to deal with middle. Pillar has loads of expertise as a glove-first outfield choice over his 12-year MLB profession, and even getting into his age-36 season he retains the power to mash opposite-handed pitching with a .310/.352/.500 line in opposition to lefties final 12 months. In the meantime, Haggerty has by no means had a daily position within the majors however is a profession .263/.355/.452 hitter in opposition to southpaws, even higher than Pillar’s profession numbers. With that stated, Haggerty has primarily performed the outfield corners all through his profession up to now whereas Pillar is way more skilled in middle.
No matter whether or not Pillar or Haggerty in the end makes the roster, including both to the combination would squeeze the membership’s roster. One potential route may very well be optioning Carter to the minor leagues, the place he has simply eight video games on the Triple-A degree beneath his belt. That may cleanly permit the membership to maximise its versatility whereas utilizing a platoon of Taveras and both Pillar or Haggerty in middle area however it might additionally imply additional delaying the potential affect of Carter, who was a consensus top-5 prospect within the sport getting into final season. If the Rangers need Carter on the roster for Opening Day, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning Information means that utility man Ezequiel Duran may very well be headed to Triple-A to begin the season.
Duran, 25, had a superb season for the Rangers in 2023 however struggled badly final 12 months with a 74 wRC+ final 12 months. Whereas a right-handed hitting utility participant like Duran may look like an apparent platoon accomplice for Carter or Taveras in middle, he hit simply .209/.250/.244 in 46 video games in opposition to lefties final 12 months. That work totaled simply 92 plate appearances, so maybe it ought to be taken with a grain of salt, however extra urgent than Duran’s vanishing bat in opposition to southpaws final 12 months is his lack of expertise in middle. He’s made simply 16 skilled appearances in middle area all through his profession, and just one inning of that work got here on the massive league degree. That might make Duran the odd man out on the membership’s present roster, with fellow utility man Josh Smith doubtlessly in line to tackle extra duties in his stead.
