SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Rangers took their first full-squad workout on Feb. 15. They will leave Arizona on the evening of March 21. If our math is right, Tuesday’s off day was also the midpoint of camp.
Good time to once again take stock of the roster.
There are precious few jobs open and, quite frankly, nothing should be on the verge of changing at this stage of camp. That said, there are still decisions to be made, intriguing possibilities presenting themselves and guys either improving stock or losing steam.
That’s why we are here: To give you a projection for the opening day roster (along with the disclaimer that this hardly means it’s the roster with which the Rangers will play the majority of the season) and to point out who’s raising eyebrows and who’s raising blood pressure. So here’s our state of the roster, version 3.0:
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Starting rotation (5): RHP Jacob deGrom, RHP Nathan Eovaldi, LHP MacKenzie Gore, RHP Jack Leiter, RHP Kumar Rocker
What must be decided: Nothing has changed here. The Rangers would like Rocker to win the job. He was the third pick in the draft, representing a big investment. His first two starts this spring have been adequate but far better than his first two starts last spring, which knocked him out of the competition before it could really get started.
Worth watching: Jacob Latz, the other candidate, has outpitched Rocker thus far, throwing 63.2% first-pitch strikes and 68.7% of his pitches for strikes. Latz has not walked a batter in five innings, and after allowing three of the first four hitters to reach against Seattle in his last outing, he retired the next eight hitters to complete his three innings of work. Still, the Rangers believe Latz would offer them more value pitching out of the bullpen.
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Biggest mover: Latz is making his case, but the other two vets with a chance to identify themselves as rotation options are not. Between them, Cal Quantrill, now off to pitch for Team Canada in the WBC, and Austin Gomber have allowed 19 hits and 11 runs in 7⅓ innings. Hits can be deceiving in Arizona, but they’ve also combined for as many free passes (four walks and a hit batter) as strikeouts. Not a great rate. Patrick Corbin is still out there in free agency, in case anybody was wondering.
Bullpen (8): RHP Chris Martin, LHP Robert Garcia, LHP Jacob Latz, RHP Jakob Junis, RHP Cole Winn, LHP Tyler Alexander, RHP Carter Baumler, RHP Alexis Diaz
What must be decided: Alexis Diaz has the most closing experience among those fighting for bullpen spots, but his velocity and, more importantly, first-pitch strike percentage were down the last two years. He’s got to show improvement in both in spring training to secure a roster spot because, although he’s on a major league contract, he does have minor league options remaining. In his second outing of spring, facing established big league hitters, he threw only 12 of 23 pitches for strikes and his velocity was just 93 mph. Josh Sborz, who followed him into the game after Diaz exhausted his pitch count, hit 93 mph, as well, and he’s coming back from shoulder surgery. Diaz is by no means a lock.
Worth watching: What happens with Latz will determine multiple positions. If the Rangers do choose to go with Latz in the rotation, it would open up a role for a multi-inning pitcher in the bullpen. Non-roster invitees Peyton Gray, 30, and Trey Supak, 29, are both older minor leaguers, but it is hard to overlook their 10 combined innings of work that include a single (unearned) run allowed with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. Long shots for sure, but they’re taking advantage of the looks they’ve been given to factor in as possible options.
Biggest mover: Non-roster righty Gavin Collyer, throwing 97-99 mph, continues to catch the eyes of everybody looking for a high-octane reliever, but Baumler, a Rule 5 pick, who must be kept on the major league roster or offered back to Baltimore, has shown above-average stuff, good strike zone command and worked into a second inning of work in his last outing.
Catchers (2): C Kyle Higashioka, C Danny Jansen
What must be decided: Whether the Rangers are comfortable using one of these guys as a part-time DH from the right side, which might provide a little more flexibility to bench construction. But workload management will be key with these guys. Those are the words we wrote last week and they remain true.
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Worth watching: To the above we add: Higashioka went five days between outings because of a cranky back. It’s very possible they will have to deal with that during the season, too. Would it force them to carry three catchers for periods of time? How would that impact other areas of the roster?
Biggest mover: The third catcher candidate is Willie MacIver, who has shown some nice strike zone judgement at the plate with five walks in 13 plate appearances thus far. By comparison, the other catcher in camp with big league experience, Jose Herrera, is 2 for 16 with six strikeouts to just a single walk.
Infielders/DH (6): 1B Jake Burger, 2B Josh Smith, SS Corey Seager, 3B Josh Jung, DH-1B Joc Pederson, UTL Ezequiel Duran
What must be decided: Is Duran’s spot solid? He can play shortstop and third base better than any other backup option on the big league roster. And he offers the Rangers a possible right-handed option in a second base platoon. But he’s not hit in the majors for two years and is off to a slow start this spring despite playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. He does have a minor league option remaining and Tyler Wade, a utility journeyman, has been off to a strong start.
Worth watching: How Jung, currently dealing with an adductor strain, approaches his return. He’d been in a good spot with his swing before the injury. When he does return, he’ll probably have about 10 days to two weeks to refind his groove heading into the season. Will he chase results? Or remain “obsessed” about the process only, which is his intent? The injury is a disappointment, but it may also offer him the ability to confirm his intent with actions when he gets back?
Biggest mover: Cam Cauley, the best healthy position player in the minor league system at the moment, has a team-high five extra-base hits (four doubles and a homer) in his 26 at-bats for a .625 slugging percentage. Cauley, 23, hit .253/.325/.448/.773 at Double-A Frisco last year with 15 homers. He probably can’t make the club out of spring, but he could take Duran’s role as utility guy before the year is over.
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Outfielders (5): LF Wyatt Langford, CF Evan Carter, RF Brandon Nimmo, UTL Sam Haggerty, OF-DH Mark Canha
What must be decided: Does Canha, 37 and coming off a poor season, have anything left to give the Rangers as a right-handed occasional DH and pinch-hitting threat against lefties? He is 1 for 8 thus far vs. lefties.
Worth watching: Brandon Nimmo, who takes a slow approach to spring games, is expected to appear in his first game Wednesday. With it, he’ll probably step into the leadoff spot and the Rangers lineup should start to look like it might come opening day. The biggest question might be where Evan Carter slots in that alignment. Would the Rangers want to have back-to-back on-base guys at Nos. 9 and 1 with Carter at the bottom followed by Nimmo? That would also give them back-to-back lefties that might make late-game pitching assignments easier for opponents.
Biggest mover: The Rangers currently have a dearth of position players in the system, so it would be nice to see 2021 second-rounder Aaron Zavala regain some mojo. He’s been a regular callover from the minor league camp and has produced in lots of late-game situations thus far, going 9 for 18 with a pair of homers. Zavala, who will turn 26 this year, has hit just .207 at Double-A and Triple-A over the last three seasons.
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