Leody Taveras, Eli White on Texas Rangers roster, but Delino DeShields gets bad news
Center fielders Leody Taveras and Eli White were told Thursday that they will be on the Texas Rangers’ Opening Day roster, a development that left no room for Delino DeShields.
The former Rangers center fielder, back at spring training on a minor-league deal after a season in Cleveland, was told that he won’t be on the team. The Rangers said they will not stand in his way should another team pursue him.
“I hope, for his sake, there’s a big-league team that needs him,” manager Chris Woodward said. “If he wants to stay with us, hopefully that’s the end result of a big-league team doesn’t want him.”
DeShields entered Thursday with only a .208 average in 24 at-bats, but has performed well in B games. Those stats don’t count, but Woodward wanted to make sure they were included in the Rangers’ overall evaluation.
“According to that, Delino has had a pretty good camp,” Woodward said.
White, though, has had a better camp and might be the reason DeShields didn’t make the team. White will play early on while Khris Davis and Willie Calhoun recover from injuries and the Rangers use the DH spot to give right fielder Joey Gallo and left fielder David Dahl quasi-days off.
White or Taveras could lose their roster spot once Davis and Calhoun are ready to be reinstated form the injured list.
Taveras, a switch hitter, has rebounded from a slow start to camp in which his lack of approach cost him a chance to be the leadoff hitter. He drove in two with a two-out double Wednesday in a 6-5 victory.
He and White are considered elite defensive outfielders. DeShields has as much speed as that duo, but lags in arm strength.
The Rangers traded DeShields in December 2019 as part of the Corey Kluber trade with the Indians. They selected DeShields in the Rule 5 draft in 2014, and he made his MLB debut with them in 2015.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 6:39 PM.
