FRISCO — The topic that Evan Carter has discussed endlessly for the better part of two years is the same one he’d prefer to leave entirely in the past.
He at least now believes he has a better response than at any other juncture.
“I feel like I’ve been kind of telling myself that I feel good in the past,” the Texas Rangers outfielder said last Wednesday at the Frisco Embassy Suites. “I actually feel really good right now.”
Carter, the club’s former top prospect and postseason hero, has yet to complete a season sans interruptions in his first two full years of big league baseball. He played in just 45 games two seasons ago because of a stress reaction in his lower back that followed a worrisome trend of minor league injuries. He started last season at Triple-A Round Rock and played just 63 total games with the Rangers because of a quad strain, back spasms and a broken wrist. The total count of games missed (216) is exactly double the number that he played (108) over a 324-contest span.
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The 23-year-old has fully recovered from the fracture he suffered Aug. 21 when Kansas City Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV ended his season with a fastball to the wrist. He’s regained the weight he lost during the season and is up to a “comfortable” 190 pounds. He worked with hitting coaches Justin Viele and Eric Dorton this winter and said he’s hit balls harder in the cages than he ever has before.
“I know I’m a big league, everyday starter,” Carter said. “I know I can do it. I’m going to go do it.”
The “how” and “where” of that equation have yet to be hashed out. Carter maintains he’s at his best in center field, where he’s started exactly half of his career big league games, but still prides himself on versatility. Newly acquired outfielder Brandon Nimmo slots best at one of the corner positions. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said at the winter meetings last month that there have been “conversations” about whether Gold Glove finalist left fielder Wyatt Langford should play center.
Langford’s availability in each of the last two seasons surpasses Carter’s and may favor him in center field discussions. His performance in center — where Langford has an advantage in defensive runs saved and defensive value in three fewer starts — may too. Schumaker believes both Carter and Langford are Gold Glove-caliber defenders and can play any of the three positions.
“I don’t really care,” Carter said. “I’m on a big league team trying to win games. At the end of the day, I just want to be in the lineup every day, and if it’s in right, left or center, if I can help, that’s where I’m going to be.”
Carter is excited to work with newly minted first base coach Travis Jankowski — a mentor of his when he first joined the big league roster — and believes that his former teammate can help unlock his full potential in the outfield and on the basepaths. Carter’s 29 feet-per-second sprint speed last season graded in the 90th percentile leaguewide, per Baseball Savant, though his 17 career stolen bases are not reflective of that quickness.
“I’m really fast, but as far as strategy and smartness-wise at baserunning, I can get way better at that,” Carter said. “I feel like he’s going to be somebody that can help me steal 20-30 bags. The goal would be to get 30 bags this year. I think I can do it.”
That fits with the aggressive team-oriented offense that Schumaker and his staff hope to employ this season. It’s only a useful weapon if Carter can remain on the field — either by way of health or abilities — in a full-time capacity.
The difference between his performance versus right-handed pitchers (where he owns a career .829 OPS) and left-handed pitchers (where he owns a career .275 OPS) is a canyon that’s only widened due to the dearth of opportunities he’s gotten against southpaws. It’s certainly the difference between an everyday role and a platoon gig.
Carter would prefer to avoid the latter.
“Bang righties to get your opportunities against lefties,” Carter said. “And once you get your opportunities, you better capitalize on them.”
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