Texas Rangers demote Leody Taveras, in part because they have AL Player of the Week
Leody Taveras remains a significant part of the Texas Rangers’ future plans, even this season’s plans.
They believe his defense and speed, plus the way he can control the strike zone, will add up to him being a quality MLB center fielder, even if those skills were missing for much of the first 22 games of the season.
The center fielder was sent to the alternate training site Monday afternoon, swapped out for left-hander Hyeon-Jong Yang, to get his swing ironed out and to play every day without the pressure that often falls on a highly regarded prospect.
Taveras heads to Round Rock with an .087 average (4 for 46) and 23 strikeouts. He also lost playing time to newcomer Adolis Garcia, who on Monday was selected as the American League Player of the Week.
Garcia’s breakthrough made the decision to demote Taveras easier. He’s certainly not the first prospect who has had to return to the minor leagues for some extra prep time, and the expectation is he will be better when upon his return.
“I think he needs to go down and play,” manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s been nothing but professional. He’s kept his head up. His a confident kid. He works his tail off. Two or three days for the past week he’s really worked on some things that are going to help him long-term, but he needs to play.”
The return of Willie Calhoun also was making it more difficult for Woodward to find games for Taveras, who made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster for the second straight season. He entered the season as the team’s No. 3 prospect, according to Baseball America.
Garcia has made the most of his opportunity after being promoted to replace the injured Ronald Guzman on the active roster. Garcia is tied for the team lead with five home runs despite playing only 12 games.
He is the third player in franchise history to hit three go-ahead home runs as his first three career homers. The others are Jurickson Profar in 2012 and 2013 and Billy Sample in 1979.
Four of Garcia’s five homers came last week, when he batted .333 with nine RBIs and an .875 slugging percentage to bring home the AL’s weekly honors. Garcia is the first Rangers player to bag AL Player of the Week since Joey Gallo did it April 15-21, 2019.
“It’s consistent success,” Woodward said. “He’s having success against pretty elite pitching.”
Yang will be seeking his MLB debut after signing a non-roster deal shortly before spring training, where he impressed the Rangers with his composure and his stuff played better than they thought it would.
The bullpen was worn thin during a long weekend in Chicago, and Yang will give the Rangers more length.
Taveras played in only one of those games. He’s going to be playing every day going forward, just for now it’s at the alternate training site and likely at the start of the Triple A season.
“When you start a season with expectations it’s tough,” Woodward said. “Teams start to know you a little bit. It’s gets harder and harder. There are certain things he had to go through, and I think it was important he went through them so that when he goes down he has some understanding of what he’s going to face when he comes back.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 5:21 PM.
