Five key items on Rangers’ spring training to-do list

Monday marked the official report date for Texas Rangers position players, though they all have been working at the Surprise Recreation Campus for days.

Actually, just one day, to be precise, with catcher A.J. Jimenez making his way from the waiver wire to the spring training clubhouse Sunday morning.

Of the players who were on the roster at the beginning of the month, Elvis Andrus and Travis Snider were latest arrivals, joining in Saturday.

The point, though, is that position players have been arriving en masse for more than a week, with some beating the Feb. 14 report date for pitchers and catchers. Almost all of the rest followed within the next two days.

So, the gang that hopes to be part of a third consecutive American League West championship is all here. The pitchers and catchers have been working on what they need to accomplish before the April 3 season opener, now the position players will officially begin their work Tuesday during the first full-squad workout.

“They need to be focused on their daily preparation,” manager Jeff Banister said. “What’s on the practice schedule, and why are we doing the drills we’re doing. Ultimately, we need to be effective and efficient doing the drills. Then it becomes the health side of it.”

Here are five things on their spring to-do list.　

1. One of the messages always delivered on Day 1 of workouts is to stay healthy, and that’s especially true with the Rangers. Already, they have two principal concerns.

Red flags went up, at least to some degree, with everyone not named Adrian Beltre when the third baseman showed up with a strained left calf.

It’s not an injury that will keep him out for the start of the regular season, but it’s an injury that could — and probably should — keep him out of the first round of the World Baseball Classic.

Beltre, who turns 38 shortly after Opening Day, isn’t the only player seemingly always susceptible to the injury bug. So is Shin-Soo Choo, who it appears will need to get used to the idea of serving as designated hitter for a significant chunk of his games.

Elvis Andrus should be fine after a Nov. 1 operation to fix a sports hernia, but he will be taking it easy early on.

Then there’s Josh Hamilton, who must earn his way onto the Opening Day roster. To do that, he has to do something he hasn’t done for years — stay healthy.

2. With DH in Choo’s future, the Rangers are seeking someone to play left field multiple times a week, and there are no shortage of candidates.

Ryan Rua, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo, expected to compete for time at first base before Mike Napoli was signed, are now competing for at-bats in left field. So are Delino DeShields, Jared Hoying, Cesar Puello, Hamilton and Snider.

Fortunately, it appears as though Napoli’s services in left field won’t be needed.

Profar and Gallo are infielders who have had a taste of left field, and they will get a full serving of it this spring.

Profar and Rua, holdovers from the 2016 roster, look to be the front-runners. But keep an eye on DeShields, who has trimmed down some 28 pounds and is the Rangers’ best center fielder behind projected starter Carlos Gomez.

3. The roster isn’t set, but only a few spots are available. That’s still enough room for Hamilton for make the team. As long as he’s in camp, he’s going to be an ongoing storyline.

He needs to do more than just hit this spring, Banister said. Hamilton needs to be more versatile than just a hitter and better than Prince Fielder if the Rangers stick him at first base and good enough if he plays left field.

Those aren’t insignificant ifs — the hitting or the defense and especially the health. Hamilton is also competing with many other players, all younger, healthier and more versatile.

But they don’t come with the pedigree Hamilton has and talent he once had. He’s says that talent is still inside him. He needs to let it loose over the next six weeks.　

4. Gomez was arguably the worst player in the American League — the worst as far as Houston Astros fans are concerned — before starring with the Rangers over the final six weeks.

He parlayed the finish to his season into a one-year deal worth $11.5 million, turning down multi-year offers so that he can hit free agency again after the season. He’s gambling on himself, and an argument can be made that the Rangers are gambling on him.

To that end, assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore was deployed to the Dominican Republic for a week during the off-season to work with Gomez on the swing he struck on with the Rangers.

Gomez will be back in center field, where his defense should be an upgrade over Ian Desmond. Gomez also has enough speed to create havoc on the bases and give the Rangers an interchangeable No. 1- and No. 2-hole hitters with Choo.　

5. With the top of the batting order settled, all Banister needs to do is fill in the other seven spots. He used Nomar Mazara as the No. 3 hitter early on last season before the rookie faded in the second half.

Make no mistake that the Rangers are counting on Mazara to be a productive player, though not necessarily their third hitter, and to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. It is real, as DeShields and Rougned Odor can attest.

Only the season will tell if Mazara falls into the second-year trap, but the Rangers feel good about his chances of side-stepping it. His maturity and baseball IQ, they say, will keep him afloat, but if the ship starts to leak this spring, Rangers coaches and his teammates have time plug any holes.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Five key items on Rangers’ spring training to-do list."