Loss of playing time was inevitable for Elvis Andrus. It’s past due for Rougned Odor.
The news from earlier this week, that Elvis Andrus is no longer the Texas Rangers’ starting shortstop, probably shouldn’t rate as surprising as it was.
The actual act was jolting, but the writing had been on Andrus’ baseball-reference.com page for some time. He hasn’t produced enough, for whatever reason, and the Rangers need more at that position.
It’s not sure thing that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is going to be a significant improvement, though his defense will be an upgrade. The Rangers believe there is more in the bat, and there needs to be.
Take Andrus’ last full season, which the Rangers weren’t entirely pleased with. He hit 12 home runs, drove in 72 runs and produced a .707 OPS, which is considered below average.. However, that’s eight points higher than what Kiner-Falefa did in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he was the Rangers Player of the Year.
And with a deep pool of shortstops in the minors, most of it at the lower levels, Kiner-Falefa might just be a seat-warmer for a few seasons until Anderson Tejeda, Maximo Acosta, Luisangel Acuna or Chris Seise becomes an upgrade.
But the overriding sense here from Tuesday’s news drop is that the wrong player lost his job. Rougned Odor has been told (again) that he must win the job at second base, with Nick Solak his main competition, but Odor wasn’t pushed aside as Andrus was.
That might mean more about the Rangers’ stockpile of second baseman than it means Odor has compromising photos of Jon Daniels.
The Rangers still aren’t sure if Solak’s defense will be reliable enough to handle second base over a full season. If the Rangers aren’t convinced that Solak is a better defender than Odor, who’s not exactly Bill Mazeroski out there, then that’s problem.
Daniels said that Justin Foscue, the 2020 first-rounder from Mississippi State, likely won’t make his MLB debut in 2021. Considering Foscue has yet to play as a professional, well, that makes sense.
But there is a growing caucus in the organization that believes Foscue will be a star. When Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and the sort reveal their organizational prospect rankings a year from now, Foscue could be the Rangers’ No. 1.
For now, the top prospect is Josh Jung, a third baseman who just happened to play some second base at the alternate camp and during the instructional league.
Hmmm ... . No. He’s part of the reason for the Rangers’ decision to move Kiner-Falefa from third -- where he won the Gold Glove! -- to shortstop and to move Andrus wherever they need him.
The Rangers have an opening at third until Jung is ready. It will be in 2021 and could be before the All-Star break, one club official said.
Jung could be unseating Andrus when the time comes.
Chip defined
Daniels and manager Chris Woodward said that the decision to unseat Andrus has left the veteran with a chip on his shoulder. He’s motivated. He’s ready to prove some people wrong.
For anyone who is wonder what a chip on the shoulder really is, look no further than Kiner-Falefa. He let it show Tuesday during a Zoom call with the beat guys.
Being an MLB shortstop has been his dream, which at times has been a nightmare. A shortstop in little league, high school and even his first professional season, Kiner-Falefa was passed over and forced to learn other positions to keep his dream alive.
Most noteworthy was his attempt to become a catcher, which the Rangers aborted halfway through 2019.
But as he tried to rise through the minors, he kept getting pushed back by shortstops who have never made it. Kiner-Falefa named names, too, though not in a mean-spirited way.
In fact, he said he’s somewhat glad that less was thought of him than Michael DeLeon, Josh Morgan, Yeyson Yrizarri, Ti’Quan Forbes and Travis Demeritte.
Kiner-Falefa acknowledges that he has taken the long route to becoming an MLB shortstop.
“At the end of the day, it’s whatever helps the team win,” Kiner-Falefa said. “So it meant me catching, that’s what I was going to do. If it meant me playing third, that’s what I was going to do. This year, if the organization wants me to play short, that’s what I’m going to do.”
What about Santana?
The Rangers opted to not tender a 2021 contract to Danny Santana, the club’s Player of the Year in 2019 who was lousy in 2020 and then had to have an elbow ligament reconstruction.
There’s no need, especially in these financial times, to pay a player in that situation the $3 million-plus Santana would have received in salary arbitration. The timing is pretty rotten for him, with the Rangers’ infield in flux.
Santana can play across the diamond, and did in 2019. He can play left field, where the Rangers aren’t sure if Willie Calhoun is going to play there or spend most of his time at designated hitter.
The Rangers could have put Santana at second and Solak in left while plopping Odor on the bench.
If another team doesn’t take a chance on Santana and the Rangers determine they would like him back, he could be ready to by May. If he shows signs of being the player he was in 2019, the Rangers could find use for him.
Another non-tendered player, Scott Heineman, re-signed Thursday. Santana might follow Heineman’s lead, though it’ll be a while.
