SURPRISE, Ariz. — Brandon Nimmo didn’t play in the Rangers’ spring opener, didn’t play on Saturday and isn’t likely to be seen in an exhibition game until the first week of March.
And, yet, he took more at-bats than any player on the team on Friday.
Nimmo turned a shortened spring training in 2022 into the foundation for a ramp-up regimen that has allowed him to be one of just 17 major leaguers to average 150 games and 650 plate appearances over the last four years.
Part of that is slower build up to game speed, but with more focus on at-bats. He took eight at-bats of live batting practice off minor league pitchers Friday and was to do that regularly until he gets in games. He said he treats at-bats like game situations, but it also allows him to do his running and defensive work under more controlled conditions for a longer period of time.
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It has worked or been an incredible coincidence. Nimmo had never played in 150 games in a season until the lockout-induced shorter spring training. He has played in 150 games every year since.
“We had a shortened spring and I had fit more into into less,” he said. “I ended up playing center field and I played 150 games plus. We took that and kind of said that worked well — there’s a lot more that goes preparation — but it seemed like a good start for me to get off on the right foot so that I can physically handle the demands early. This has been the best way for me to be durable.”
Wyatt Langford, who dealt with a strained oblique early in spring training a year ago, is also on a slower ramp up, but is expected to start on Tuesday.
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