Winning, not playing time, is top priority for Rangers’ Moreland

Mike Napoli is supposed to make the Texas Rangers better in his encore with the team he helped get within a game of winning the 2011 World Series.

He went away to Boston to get his World Series ring, adding to his résumé as a quality postseason performer and becoming a player who will be looked upon for leadership as the Rangers head down the stretch and, if a hefty dose of good fortune comes their way, during a postseason run.

Napoli’s job is to mash left-handed pitching and be a late-innings threat off the bench as a pinch-hitter. He still has power against lefties and righties, and has a long list of big hits in big moments.

He will be taking his cuts at the expense of Mitch Moreland, who is having a breakout season and a healthy season. Even against lefties, against whom he has always been confident but without much to show for it.

Moreland wants to face all comers. He doesn’t want to lose playing time. But he also wants to win, and he believes that Napoli gives the Rangers a better chance of doing so over the final 52 games.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Moreland said. “It’s another piece that will help us take that next step and get us to the next level. It really helps the team, on and off the field.”

The Rangers were off Monday before a three-game series at Minnesota. The Twins are scheduled to start three right-handers, so expect to see Moreland in all three games at Target Field in a matchup of American League wild-card contenders.

The postseason ranks No. 1 on Moreland’s list of priorities. The desire to win is often lost in the face of high contracts and the occasional self-serving sound bite across baseball, but Moreland wants a championship and wants one with the Rangers.

He has another season before he can be a free agent, and he’s chipping away at the notion that he can’t hit left-handers even in the face of the Napoli acquisition. He’s batting .263 against them this season, the best average of his career, but his .368 slugging percentage and two homers became worrisome on a team that is 20-23 against lefties this season.

A better approach has led to the improvement against lefties, but Moreland understands and has accepted that he won’t be facing them much the rest of the season in an effort to get to the playoffs.

“That part of it is tough, but at the same time, everybody is here for the same goal,” said Moreland, who has reached base in 11 straight games and is batting .294 overall.

“It’s not about going out there and seeing how much you’re going to play. It takes all of us in here to win games to get to where we want to be in the end. I just want to be able to go out and help the team any way I can.”

Napoli gave his friend Moreland high praise by calling him one of the league’s top hitters this season and saying he deserves to be in the lineup every day. They are of the same mindset, wanting to do whatever it takes to end the Rangers’ two-year playoff drought.

For Napoli, that means trading a starting role in Boston for a part-time role in Arlington, and he’s fine with it. Moreland hit for him late Saturday, and Napoli hit for Bobby Wilson in the ninth inning Sunday.

“I’m fine with it,” Napoli said.

He’s trending the right way at the plate after quieting down his swing and taking a mental break during the All-Star break with a trip to Cape Cod with a group of his friends. He is batting .254 in the second half to boost his average to only .205, but that’s 12 points better than it was at the break.

Just as important as quieting down his swing is that he has found a routine that has allowed him to keep his swing sharp.

“Usually you go through slumps and you work your way out if it,” Napoli said. “I’ve been a real streaky hitter throughout my career. I go on some real hot streaks, and I go on some cold streaks. I tried everything. I went through something that was hard to get out of.

“I found something that was comfortable and something I can work on every day. When I calmed down everything, I had so much movement in my hands and my body, I just tried to simplify it. It’s helped me.”

It should help the Rangers, whose lineups have been too left-handed-heavy and led other teams to target left-handers against them. Their .243 average against lefties, starters and relievers, is 11th in the 15-team AL, and their .306 on-base percentage is 13th.

Manager Jeff Banister had already been taking Moreland out against some lefties, as well as Shin-Soo Choo, Josh Hamilton and Rougned Odor. It’s not ideal for Moreland, but acquiring Napoli is about winning games and getting to the postseason.

“This gives us some options against left-handed pitchers that we’ve struggled against,” Banister said. “We have not been as successful as want to be, as we need to be to get where we want to go. We can dice it up however we want to, but this is adding another potential big-bat threat in the lineup.”

Winning is Moreland’s top priority, too, even at the expense of playing time to Napoli.

“He’s a good friend of mine, a great clubhouse guy,” Moreland said. “And we’re better for it.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Winning, not playing time, is top priority for Rangers’ Moreland."