Opening Day is in two weeks. Here are the five biggest decisions facing Texas Rangers
Opening Day for the Texas Rangers’ 2021 season arrives April 1. That’s two weeks from now, or maybe less than that depending on when you’re reading this.
Ah, the magic of the world wide web.
Either way, the season is coming on fast.
By this point, it appears as if manager Chris Woodward has made up his mind on a few issues. For instance, the Opening Day starter will be right-hander Kyle Gibson, and the No. 3 hitter will be right fielder Joey Gallo.
The Rangers are going to have a five-man rotation, but use seven pitchers to fill it.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nick Solak, Jose Trevino, David Dahl and, yes, Rougned Odor will be on the Opening Day roster. So will Mike Foltynewicz, Kohei Arihara, Jose Leclerc and Brett Martin.
Josh Jung, arguably one of the best players in camp, will not be in Kansas City for the lid-lifter.
That might seem like a lot, but that’s not even half the roster. It’s only one spot in the lineup, two in the bullpen and three in the rotation.
In other words, there’s a lot to do in the next two weeks.
Here are five pressing issues, leading off with the leadoff hitter.
Taveras or Kiner-Falefa?
Rookie center fielder Leody Taveras came to camp penciled in as the leadoff hitter.
The switch hitter showed an improved walk rate last season and more power, and his speed can be an asset atop the lineup.
But his at-bats early in spring left Woodward dissatisfied, and Taveras was pushed to the bottom of the lineup in favor of Kiner-Falefa.
The shortstop has never been an on-base machine, but he has made pitchers labor this spring and has drawn more walks than expected. At the very least, Kiner-Falefa will bat first against left-handed pitchers.
Taveras can win back the top spot by showing more at the plate, as he has done the past week. But another issue has crept up on him.
Center field unsettled?
Just as Taveras came to Arizona a near-lock to be in center field, he no longer has a firm grip on that position because of White’s sizzling performance.
White is just as fast as Taveras, if not a tick faster, and the Rangers say that White isn’t as far off defensively as Taveras. That’s saying something, because Taveras is an elite defensive player.
While Taveras hasn’t hit as well as he and the Rangers would like, White has been a hitting machine both in Cactus League games and back-field B games.
In the process, White has entered the picture in center field.
Both players could make their case for the opening roster, but it doesn’t make sense to carry both. They are rookies who need to play every day in order to develop, and keeping one as a bench player would be counterproductive.
Who bats fourth?
Gallo is lighting up the Cactus League offensively, and showing signs that he can sustain his success once the regular season begins.
If he does, teams are simply going to pitch around him if he doesn’t have a legitimate cleanup hitter behind him. Woodward has tried different hitters there, but no one has seized the job.
Khris Davis could be the choice. He has as much power as anyone in baseball when he’s right, but he hasn’t been right for a few seasons or so far this spring. He did, however, hit a three-run homer Thursday in a B game.
Odor could be the choice, but, well, there’s a long track record that shows why that won’t work.
Another possibility is Dahl, a 2019 National League All-Star who throughout his career has hit right-handers and left-handers.
Who’s on first?
It’s starting to look as if Guzman is the answer, hitting his way onto them but also making himself a better roster fit with a willingness, and perhaps surprising ability, to play the corner outfield spots.
With Willie Calhoun (groin) likely to miss the start of the season, Guzman can play left field and spend time at designated hitter in addition to first base. It’s an unexpected development that keeps the Rangers from exposing Guzman to waivers.
But he’s also earned his way onto the team.
There should be enough at-bats for Nate Lowe to also make the team and play first base when Guzman isn’t there.
The closer is ... ?
Woodward said only a few days into camp that he was waiting to name a closer, and might not name one.
The front-runner was Leclerc, who had experience at the job and was the closer last season when he was injured in the first week. He was too valuable and versatile, Woodward said, to just pin down to the ninth inning.
Jonathan Hernandez was another candidate, but, like Leclerc, would help the team more if he wasn’t limited to just the ninth inning.
Leclerc might get save opportunities, but Matt Bush is making the case that he should, too. He has been dominant and believes he has learned how to uses his off-speed pitches more effectively.
He still has 97 mph in his back pocket, but he won’t be the same pitcher he was in 2017.
