Roster changes are already under way. What else might Rangers do in final two months?
A bottle of wine sat Wednesday on Chris Woodward’s desk, a thoughtful gift from a concerned wife on one of baseball’s most stressful days.
She figured the Texas Rangers manager might need a moment to unwind in the aftermath of the trade deadline.
The Rangers didn’t shake up the team via trade, but roster changes are already afoot. Young players are coming. Veterans might not play as much as they want.
Balancing playing is this manager’s most challenging task.
Pass that Malbec.
“That’s the hardest thing I have to do,” Woodward said. “Every single guy on our roster wants to play every day.
The Rangers wasted little time mixing things up. Gone, officially on Friday, are Asdrubal Cabrera and Tim Federowicz. Taking their place will be Jose Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, whose focus will now be back on playing infield.
General manager Jon Daniels said that Trevino will share catching duties with Jeff Mathis, and Logan Forsythe and Danny Santana will play third when Kiner-Falefa is off or playing elsewhere.
But this is just the start of what’s to come the final two months. Don’t expect a full-blown tryout for next season, as was the case in 2014 after the roster became riddled with season-ending injuries.
The Rangers, though, want to see how some players in the minors fare in the majors and make some more definitive judgments on any roster work that needs to be done during the off-season.
Triple A outfielder Scott Heineman and second baseman Nick Solak are locks for promotions, and they could happen quickly.
Here’s a look at five other players or areas where changes can be anticipated as the Rangers take a deeper dive into player evaluation the rest of the season.
Santana future at third?
The Rangers didn’t trade Santana because they want to see if the player batting .326 with 16 home runs and a .949 OPS is for real or more like the player who fizzled after his rookie season and was forced to sign a minor-league contract just to get into Rangers spring camp.
He is arbitration-eligible for two more seasons and has played six of the nine positions this season. He isn’t going to pitch or catch, but the Rangers want to see him play third base before the season ends.
Obviously, they have an opening there for 2020. Kiner-Falefa is solid there defensively, but his bat doesn’t fit the profile of a third baseman. Santana has played only six games in majors there, five of them in 2017, but has been working there before games.
Woodward said he won’t push Santana into a game without more pregame work, perhaps after an off day dedicated to a crash course at third.
The Rangers might need a third baseman for only a season until first-round pick Josh Jung is ready to debut.
Allard coming
The one healthy player the Rangers acquired the final 24 hours before the deadline was left-hander Kolby Allard, who came from the Atlanta Braves in the Chris Martin trade. Allard has been pitching all season at Triple A, but that is going to change.
Daniels said that the former first-round pick (14th overall, 2015) will pitch for the Rangers this season, possibly before he turns 22 on Aug. 13. He automatically becomes a leading candidate for the 2020 rotation.
He made his MLB debut last season on July 31 as a 20-year-old and has ample Triple A time, much more than current Rangers rotation hopefuls Joe Palumbo and Taylor Hearn.
What he lacks with his fastball velocity, he makes up for with his competitive nature and polish.
“This is talented kid,” Daniels said.
Leclerc at closer
Right-hander Jesse Chavez earned the save Wednesday night with a scoreless ninth inning, but only because Jose Leclerc was given extended rest after working the final three days of the Oakland series last weekend.
If the Rangers have a save opportunity Friday in the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, Leclerc could get the ball.
“I can honestly say that,” Woodward said. “I can say that will all confidence, and he will get an opportunity. Probably soon. I have no problem putting him back in there.”
Leclerc blew a save chance Sunday in the finale at Oakland, and fans reacted as expected without considering the effects of pitching on a third straight day. Woodward, though, said not to judge Leclerc on that outing.
Leclerc has pitched to a 2.87 ERA the past 17 games and has lowered his ERA to 4.32 from its high-water mark of 8.44. He’s been better -- much better -- than he was in April and May.
Rest of bullpen
The Rangers have already had a rotating door into their bullpen this season, and they currently have five rookie relievers. Brett Martin has been the class of the group, and he could finish the season pitching with games on the line.
Three power arms in the minors has a chance to debut this season, as each will have to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid exposure to the Rule 5 draft. Joe Barlow, at Nashville, and Emmanuel Clase and Demarcus Evans, at Double A Frisco, are candidates for their MLB debuts.
The Rangers have others in the organization to add to the 40, namely center fielder Leody Taveras and right-hander Tyler Phillips.
“We’re not call up everybody that we will add in November,” Daniels said. “But I would expect you’ll see a couple of them.”
Barlow is the oldest, Clase has the best control and Evans has been compared to Keone Kela, though without the red-flag character issues. The two waiver claims last month, Shane Carle and Ian Gibaut, will get consideration.
Catcher
The first area being addressed is behind the plate. Trevino is a defensive upgrade over Federowicz and Kiner-Falefa, but he won’t be much more productive at the plate. Before injuring his non-throwing shoulder last season, Trevino had won two straight minor-league Gold Gloves.
The Rangers are raising the white flag on the plan to convert Kiner-Falefa. They asked him to learn the position in the majors, and they now realize that he needs to be in the minors to continue his development.
The good news is that he’s talented enough to play solid infield defense in the majors. He’s not going to match the production of Santana or Forsythe offensively, but he’s a big leaguer.
