Rangers lose again, but don’t blame improved depth

Three of the 10 players in the Texas Rangers’ starting lineup Monday night against the New York Yankees were not on the Opening Day roster, and another player who opened 2016 in the minor leagues was in the bullpen.

The right fielder, based on his early returns, is going to be a star. The starting pitcher could find himself in the majors long term, albeit in the bullpen. The catcher is filling in adequately. The reliever is eating innings when needed.

The rash of injuries the Rangers are experiencing is nothing like the 2014 debacle, yet that injury-plagued season remains fresh in the front office’s mind.

There will be no early-May trades for a career minor-leaguer to fill out the roster and no Google searches to figure out who in the heck was just called up to make a spot start or several starts.

Building quality depth, from within the organization as well as through off-season acquisitions, has been more of a focus the past two seasons for general manager Jon Daniels, and that quality depth is being tested.

Cesar Ramos passed the test Monday in his 2016 debut, allowing three runs in six innings in a spot start for Cole Hamels; Nomar Mazara continued to pass the test with a single to start the seventh to break up a bid for a no-hitter by Nathan Eovaldi; and Brett Nicholas got a passing mark, too, with his first career homer.

The Rangers, though, needed more from the fill-ins and regulars to avoid a fourth straight loss and didn’t get it in a 3-1 loss to open a six-game homestand.

“I was just trying to go deep in the game, and it worked out where I at least to work into the seventh,” Ramos said. “[Eovaldi] did a hell of a job and you just tip your cap and come back to work tomorrow.”

Ramos was hardly to blame Monday night. The offense was, though Eovaldi has plenty to do with quieting the Rangers bats. They still feel good about things in the season’s first month, and believe their depth has them braced better than in previous seasons.

“You can never have enough, but we’re in a lot better position than we were two years ago,” Daniels said. “It’s a mix. It comes from everywhere. Whatever cliche you want to apply, but it’s an it-takes-a-village mentality. You’ve got to have contributions from all areas of the organization.”

Ramos was joined Tuesday by Nomar Mazara in right, Brett Nicholas at catcher and Alex Claudio in the bullpen. Each of them started the season at Triple A Round Rock along with right-hander Nick Martinez, who was optioned back to the minors Monday to make room for Ramos.

Injuries to right-fielder Shin-Soo Choo, catcher Robinson Chirinos, right-handed reliever Keone Kela and staff ace Hamels have caused the roster shuffling this season, though A.J. Griffin, scheduled to start Tuesday, is a fill-in for fellow righty Yu Darvish and catcher Bryan Holaday is a backup thrust into a prominent role.

Though the four-game losing streak has dropped their record to 10-10, the Rangers’ problem hasn’t been their depth as much as a disappearing act by key members in the batting order. The usually reliable Sam Dyson had a hiccup Saturday in the eighth inning.

There’s more depth available should it be needed, and not just for injury but also a lack of performance.

“It’s amazing, man,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “It’s one of the best since I’ve been here. The depth that we have down there is just going to help us. We know through the season there are going to be ups and downs and injuries. Having that depth is a huge help for us, and knowing we’re going to have guys to help us stay on top.”

Daniels said that the biggest difference from 2014 is that there is no longer a gap between the Rangers and the Triple A team, a problem that stemmed from a series of deals as previous trade deadlines.

Mazara and top prospect Joey Gallo were in the organization, just at Class A to start the season. So was right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez, their 2012 first-round pick who filled in admirably in 2015.

The Rangers faced a deficit this off-season in their upper-level starting pitcher after the trade for Hamels that sent three pitching prospects to Philadelphia, but Griffin and Ramos were added on minor league contracts and invited to spring training.

“There’s something to be said for depth vs. perceived depth,” left fielder Ian Desmond said. “What I saw most in spring training is we have players, whether they’re 20 or 25 or whatever, who can play in the big leagues. A lot of times there is perceived depth, where you have 10 guys in the top 100 on a prospects list, but they’re not really that. What I saw from this organization is a lot of players ready. Quality depth.”

How the Rangers fared

Hitting: The only batters to reach the first six innings were Prince Fielder on a second-inning error and Nomar Mazara on a fourth-inning walk. Mazara collected the first hit, and Fielder followed two batters later to snap an 0-for-10 streak. ... Brett Nicholas’ homer to right field followed an Elvis Andrus double play.　

Pitching: Cesar Ramos posted a quality start in his Rangers debut, allowing three runs in six innings. He yielded nine hits and did some nice pitching to avoid more trouble. ... Phil Klein bailed out Ramos after consecutive singles to start the seven. Klein got Brett Gardner to bounce into a fielder’s choice and struck out Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira to end the threat. ... Jake Diekman and Tom Wilhelmsen tossed a scoreless inning apiece.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Rangers lose again, but don’t blame improved depth."