They aren’t yet together, but here’s how Texas Rangers players are preparing to be
Texas Rangers pitchers and hitters were told 10 days ago to shift into a higher gear to get ready for a possible season in 2020.
Despite the back-and-forth Tuesday and Wednesday from team owners and the players, seeing live baseball this year is still a possibility.
At the very least, clubs must prepare as if they will be back in spring training next month and starting an abbreviated season in early July.
So, Rangers pitchers have been throwing live batting practice, when possible, and attempting to build up to where they left off when MLB suspended spring training on March 13. Hitters are seeing pitches from a machine and, in some instance, in live batting practice.
Pitching coach Julio Rangel and hitting coach Luis Ortiz, who participated Thursday in a Zoom call with local writers, believe baseball will be played this season despite the haggling over financial issues.
“I think what’s going on right now is what usually goes on when they’re trying to finish a CBA or they’re negotiating anything,” Ortiz said. “It just so happens that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, all the interest is on them and everything is magnified.
“I think they’re going to find a way to make that work, because I think a little is better than zero. They’re going to figure it out. The country needs it. A lot of people that depend on baseball need it. I know the players want to play, and I know the owners want us to have games. So, I think it’s just a matter of time.”
Pitching will be the key once teams open spring training 2.0. Rangel said the goal is for starting pitchers to be able to throw two or three innings from the point camps open, which he said should be easy to achieve.
The Rangers will play intrasquad games rather than other clubs, barring a deal coming together with other clubs at the end of camp. Because of how things have unfolded since spring training was canceled in March, Rangel expects that the Rangers will be cautious with pitch counts early in the season.
With rosters to be expanded from 26 players to as many as 30, the Rangers expect to carry pitchers who could piggy-back starters and cover multiple innings. Left-hander Taylor Hearn, one of three pitchers working out at Globe Life Field amid the coronavirus pandemic, and right-handers Jonathan Hernandez and Luke Farrell could be featured prominently.
“As long as the guys have done what they need to do at home before they report, the goal that we have for our three weeks of spring training is to try to get them at least to 75-80 pitches,” Rangel said.
“Once the season starts, we might not let them go as deep just to make sure the guys are getting back into shape, feeling good, and bouncing back well from outing to outing. Once we see that and they are able to get at least two or three outings where they get through five [innings] and 90 pitches, then we’ll start letting them go a bit and go from there.”
Jordan Lyles, who lives in Colorado and is training there, is the only member of the projected starting rotation who hasn’t faced hitters. Mike Minor was expected to throw live batting practice for the first time Thursday. Lance Lynn, Corey Kluber and Kyle Gibson have faced hitters and have each simulated three innings.
“It’s been preparing and trying to get them ready for whenever we get the date we have to start,” Rangel said. “It’s a little bit easier for us to build them up just because they have done a lot of that stuff in the regular spring training.”
The goal for all players, Ortiz said, is to make them understand they don’t need to push to be ready for the season. The last thing a player wants is to injure himself because he feels he must rush to be ready.
“The biggest thing for me is to not fight against time,” Ortiz said. “Most guys have been working out regularly. They shouldn’t try to rush. The foundation is there. What we have to guard against, what we can’t afford, is for guys to get hurt preparing because they are trying to do things too quickly.”
