Texas Rangers must evaluate for future, even if Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor must sit
Anyone who hasn’t watched the Texas Rangers this season might be fooled by the .198 batting average Shin-Soo Choo took into Saturday.
Things weren’t as bad as they may have looked for a veteran hitter had little luck at the start of the season and saw his average pay the price for it.
Choo, though, went 4 for 4 on Saturday with a home run to start the ninth inning. The first three hits were singles but all three were off left-handers, who have given the lefty-hitting coach fits at times this season.
“He’s a really valuable piece for us,” manager Chris Woodward said.
Choo, 38, said on Friday that he thinks he has two more seasons in him — he turned 38 on July 13 — but he will talk with his family before deciding if he will retire after his contract expires at the end of the season.
A game like that might be work in his favor.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
Beginning of the end?
Elvis Andrus has been the Rangers’ shortstop since 2009, before he was even allowed to legally consume an alcoholic drink.
He turned 32 just 10 days ago.
He’s young, but he’s baseball old. He’s dealt with injuries the past three seasons after being one of the most durable players in the game. His back has been barking not just this season, but at least the past three.
Part of the reason he was out of the lineup Saturday was because of the back. He couldn’t make a routine play Friday night, which led to a run, and Woodward believes it was due to back issues.
But the back is only part of the story.
Andrus sat as the Rangers turned to rookie Anderson Tejeda, and that’s going to happen many times the rest of the way. It won’t just be Andrus, either, as Rougned Odor won’t be playing every day no matter how well his infected right eye is doing.
Woodward let two cats out of the bag Saturday: The Rangers already know what to expect from their veterans, and Andrus and Odor haven’t earned any guaranteed playing time the rest of the way.
“I don’t think it’s about not playing, just not on an everyday basis,” Woodward said. “We’ve got to get these [young] guys in games. This is the only way we can do that. I don’t want to get into specifics. You guys will obviously see as we go. You know lineups will be a little bit different. If guys have good games, I’d like to give them another opportunity. There’s going to be a lot of conversations, a lot of learning.”
Tejeda can also play second base, where Odor plays. Nick Solak can play second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa can play shortstop and second. Kiner-Falefa will play mostly third the rest of the season, but will get some time at shortstop.
Eli White will continue to play left field and probably some center field if Leody Taveras has a day off.
Tejeda hit his second career homer in the seventh inning to forge a 2-2 tie.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Woodward said. “The younger guys, we want to see what they’ve got as we move into next year and know where we stand. The older guys are a little more predictable. They have a track record. The younger guys don’t. We are trying to get them more experience. It’s not going to be do or die. I just want to see their mentality, how they handle the day to day preparation and the at-bats.”
The Rangers owe Andrus $28.5 million and Odor $24.66 over the next two seasons. At some point, the value of their roster spot will exceed what they are owed, and the Rangers will have a decision to make.
It’s entirely possible that Andrus and Odor are motivated by not playing every day and reverse course. The Rangers appear to be betting neither will.
This could be the beginning of the end for Andrus and Odor up the middle for the Rangers.
More Gibson, Lyles
Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Jordan Lyles are under contract for next season, though Lynn apparently is still on the trading block.
But as young arms line up both on the Rangers roster — Kolby Allard, Kyle Cody and John King, among others — and at the alternate site — Tyler Phillips and Jason Bahr — Gibson and Lyles don’t have to worry about losing their spots the rest of the season.
Woodward wants Gibson and Lyles to make all their remaining starts because they will be back next season. Whatever has ailed them this season, from too many walks to tipping pitches, Gibson and Lyles need to work through their problems to get a jump-start on 2021.
“We need as many innings on those guys as possible, especially as we move into a more normal season next year where we have a 162 games,” Woodward said. “We need Gibson and Lyles to be good for us. We depend on those guys.”
Gibson allowed only two runs Saturday, but he lasted only 4 2/3 innings and needed a season-high 104 pitches to record 14 outs. The Mariners scored two in the third, including one on a bases-loaded walk.
The Rangers have won only once in his eight starts, and he’s sporting a 5.91 ERA in the first year of a three-year, $28 million contract.
“There were times when my stuff was pretty much where I wanted it to be,” Gibson said. “The slider and changeup were pretty good tonight. Thankfully I had both of those going.”
Lyles (8.59 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Sunday afternoon as the Rangers try to snap a four-game losing streak.
Hernandez takes loss
As the Rangers saw Thursday with Lynn on the mound at Houston, there are no guarantees in baseball. Lynn, the Rangers’ best starter this season and one of the best in baseball, allowed a season-high six runs.
On Saturday, the Rangers watched rookie Jonathan Hernandez, their best reliever this season, fail to retire any of the first five hitters of the Mariners’ eighth as they broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run inning.
All but one of the four hits he allowed was a rocket.
“He’s still throwing hard,” Woodward said. “The only thing we didn’t see, some of those pitches were decent but they didn’t have any depth. I don’t know what causes that, but he’s been a warrior for us.”
Hernandez was forced into the game an inning early after Joely Rodriguez left the game with an injury to his left leg. The left-hander was cruising through the seventh but needed help to get off the field after straining his left hamstring.
Woodward doesn’t expect Rodriguez to pitch again this season.
The Rangers revealed earlier in the day that Corey Kluber and Jose Leclerc would not pitch again this year. Both have a strained shoulder muscle that isn’t healed enough for them to begin throwing.
