Rangers clubhouse missing key players, but chemistry will be there

All bets are off this weekend for the Texas Rangers, who have players scattered across three states as they try to cobble together two rosters for four games.

Not pleased with the group that traveled from Arizona to Big League Weekend? Well, the Rangers aren’t exactly thrilled, either.

The group that came to Texas had a few headliners, namely Mike Napoli, Nomar Mazara and A.J. Griffin. Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, Elvis Andrus, Carlos Gomez and Shin-Soo Choo stayed in spring camp.

The Rangers’ No. 1 headliner, Adrian Beltre, is in San Diego for the World Baseball Classic with seven other Rangers who would have looked nice on the Alamodome marquee.

Their absence is being felt this spring in the Rangers’ clubhouse and on the back fields of the Surprise Recreation Campus and inside Surprise Stadium. When one-third of the projected Opening Day roster is gone, it’s hard not to feel their absence.

But none of the non-WBC Rangers, and it’s fair to assume none of the WBC Rangers, are the least bit worried about the clubhouse chemistry.

For those who still believe in chemistry being a major component of the game — and that’s just about everyone in baseball, by the way — the Rangers expect that the clubhouse will again be a strength despite the disruptive spring and the loss of three more long-tenured players to free agency.

“You know how it’s going to be here,” Napoli said. “It’s not like everyone that’s gone [to the WBC] is new to the team. I could see that if it was a bunch of new free agents who haven’t been here you might wonder.

“Every year is going to be different, but I don’t think the fun, genuine part of it is missing. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. For me, I understand the WBC, but I’d rather have my teammates here getting ready for the season. But there’s no question with anybody. It’s going to be good.”

Napoli was scheduled to be in the lineup Friday night as the Rangers played the Cleveland Indians in the first of two weekend exhibitions in the fifth annual event. He is back with the Rangers for the third time and brings with him the reputation of being the embodiment of team chemistry.

His playoff track record says that he’s a winner — something that’s hard to argue, with eight postseason appearances on his ledger — and he displays the traits that players need to follow.

He has a way of getting to know every player, no matter the background. He respects the game, carries himself professionally and doesn’t take his work lightly despite the “Party at Napoli’s” reputation.

He plays with intensity and is never intimidated.

Napoli is the player every manager wants in the clubhouse.

“He would be my first example,” said Indians manager Terry Francona, who had Napoli last season. “That’s Nap. He has a way of connecting with everybody in there. Whether it’s the coaches, players, clubbies, trainers, he connects with everybody and in a positive way and it’s for the team. That’s what matters, and he lives it out every day. Guys respect that.”

Napoli went to the first of his three World Series with the Rangers in 2011, his first season with the club. Beltre and Andrus were on that team, too, and, aside from the occasional cameo from Josh Hamilton, are all that’s left from the team’s heyday.

Though the 2011 Fall Classic was five seasons ago, that seems like a lot of turnover. The Rangers lost three from that group after last season, when Colby Lewis, Mitch Moreland and Derek Holland weren’t kept.

“It is different,” Andrus said. “It’s a lot of new faces, but that’s baseball. You have to adjust.”

What doesn’t change are the expectations. The Rangers have played at least one extra game in seven of the past eight seasons, including the 2013 tiebreaker as the second wild-card team.

The formula hasn’t changed despite the roster turnover and coaching overhaul after the 2014 season. Everyone pulls on the same rope for the common goal, putting the team’s success ahead of individual glory.

“To me that’s what it’s all about, everyone being on the same page,” Napoli said. “You’ve got to take yourself out of it and make it about everyone else and the team. That’s what I’ve always seen that’s worked.”

And that’s what’s going to make these Rangers work together and have another season with the enviable clubhouse chemistry that has become one of their trademarks, even with so many players in the WBC and with three key components from the past six seasons no longer on the team.

“The guys that are at the WBC are part of that overall chemistry anyway,” manager Jeff Banister said. “I don’t think that we have anything to worry about in the chemistry department.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Rangers clubhouse missing key players, but chemistry will be there."