Rangers At Break: Three Decisions That Went Right
The Texas Rangers are 41-49 at the All-Star Break. While they may not be happy with their record being eight games under .500, that doesn’t mean the Rangers don’t have things to be happy about. Texas has made plenty of decisions so far this season. Here are three decisions that have gone right for the Rangers in the first half of 2022.
Signing Martín Pérez
Now, the Rangers’ expectations for Pérez weren’t sky high going into the season. The one-year, $4 million contract was basically a low-risk flier on a former Ranger that hadn’t put up good numbers the past few years. But it might be the best decision they made the entire offseason. Pérez has put together an All-Star season, is on pace for the best season of his career and has one of the lowest ERAs in the American League. The Rangers are now keeping open the possibility of extending his contract past this season. And to think the Rangers were just hoping he would eat up innings and keep them in games. He’s done far more.
Sending Leody Taveras Down
The Rangers have made it clear they believe Leody Taveras has a future as their center fielder. They had an interesting way of showing it in April when they sent him to Triple-A Round Rock. But as Jon Daniels told InsideTheRangers.com’s Chris Halicke in April, there was a reason — they wanted Taveras to get consistent at-bats and show the organization he could be a consistent hitter. With Round Rock, Taveras batted .294/.335/.485/.820 with seven home runs and 29 RBI before his call-up on June 13. As of the All-Star Break, Taveras was batting .341/.367/.553/.920 with three home runs and 15 RBI. In addition, his defense in center field has been stellar. Safe to say the plan worked. He’s playing like the Major Leaguer the Rangers were hoping he would with a little time at Triple-A.
Putting Brock Burke in the Bullpen
The Rangers could have tried to force things with Brock Burke, who has been trying to break in as a starting pitcher since he joined the organization in 2018. But give the Rangers credit for seeing that Burke’s live fastball could be as useful to them in a relief role as it could be as a starter. Burke is 4-2 this season and has the third-lowest ERA (1.15) of any Rangers pitcher in history with at least 40 innings at the All-Star Break. With a new role comes uncertainty, but Burke has had two allies. The first is co-pitching coach Doug Mathis, who recognized that Burke’s starting experience allows him to be freer with attacking the plate. The second is Matt Moore, who is having a fine season himself (1.73 ERA out of the bullpen), and has provided mentorship to Burke and the other young relievers this season.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
