SURPRISE, Ariz. — As the Rangers entered the final week of camp in Arizona, President of Baseball Operations Chris Young sat down with the media for an informal update on the club. While he didn’t offer any definitive answers on the roster, he gave some insight into spring projects.
Here are selected questions and Young’s answers, slightly edited for brevity and clarity:
Question: As you enter the final week, what’s your general feeling on the way this camp has gone?
Young: “For the most part, our main guys are healthy or trending towards being healthy by opening day. And the vibe, the energy, the work, the intensity, all the things that we try to evaluate in camp, not necessarily performance, but the things that indicate positive performance is coming. It’s been really, really good.”
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Q: About things that indicate positive performance, does the walk total, which leads the major league, tell you anything since plate discipline and approach was a major focus on the field?
Young: “Maybe the walk total is inflated by a couple games that, but I do know that the quality of at-bats has been solid all spring. The underlying metrics we’ve seen are really good and indicated that the team approach is very positive. Now we have to continue that. But thus far, I think Justin Viele, Alex Cintron, the hitting group, and the commitment from the players has been tremendous. The messaging has been great. The guys are bought in, and it’s been fun to see.”
Q: So what’s different there?
Texas Rangers pitcher Tyler Alexander talks with president of baseball operations Chris Young during a spring training workout at the team’s training facility on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Young: “We have some different personnel; that’s obvious. The personnel helps and the profile of player that we have, one through nine — one through 13 — there’s just a little bit less volatility. There’s more reliable skill sets that make it tough on the pitcher. It’s not an individual at-bat, but it’s a team mindset going up, that each person is going to have a quality at bat.
“I don’t like over-promising and under-delivering, but what we’ve seen thus far has been very positive. There’s still the season to play, and we need to continue that into the season. We are going to face better pitching and we’ve got to keep the same approach and mindset and discipline when we face really good pitching.”
Q: Where do you stand on the final spot in the rotation?
Young: “We’re looking at it in a lot of different ways. Some of it is: What is best to preserve depth? Some of it is: Who are the best 13 pitchers to take? Some of it is matchup-based. Some of it is weighing somebody potentially going to the bullpen in a specific role. Some of it is health. Some of it’s just taking the right guy to fit the right need in the moment.
“First of all, we’re talking about a fifth starter spot with two really good options already on the roster [Jacob Latz and Kumar Rocker]. And [Cal] Quantrill threw well in the WBC, [Austin] Gomber threw well in his last outing. And I don’t want to lose sight of what the fifth starter role is. We’re not looking for Jacob deGrom-level performance. So, it’s easy to kind of get lost in the weeds of, ‘OK, they had an outing where it was, okay, but not dominant.’ That’s good; that’s what a fifth starter is. You could say none of them have run away with it, but I’d say they all have done a very serviceable job of what that role is going to ask of them.
Q: You’ve previously made it clear that you view Kumar Rocker as a starter only, but is there a scenario for the first month you’d consider that has him pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen in a piggyback role?
Young: “I wouldn’t rule anything out. It’s probably not the preference at this point, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. We’ll stay very open-minded. We’ll meet as a staff with the coaching staff and front office later this week and we’ll talk through all of these scenarios. I don’t want to say ‘no,’ and then all of a sudden we reverse course.
“I think we have some really good major league arms, and unfortunately, we’re not gonna have enough spots for everybody who is pitch well enough to earn one.”
Q: How do you feel about this team as compared to this time a year ago?
Young: “I want to start every season with optimism. I can say just relative to where we were last year and kind of the performance, especially on the offensive side, I just feel pretty good about where we are right now. I’ve been very pleased, not only with the personnel changes in the way the new guys have integrated and performed, but the way the lineup has collectively attacked the opposing team, and I’m excited to see what it brings.
“It feels like the team is hungry. It feels like they’ve got an edge, and in a good way. The clubhouse is lively and energetic. There are a lot of good vibes. I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got a tough schedule to start, and we’re going to face some adversity, and we’ve got to be able to respond to that adversity. But I do feel very good about the group we have and the way spring training has gone. There have been so many positives from Skip and his staff, the communication to detail and the energy. I believe that it’s going to lead to very good results.”
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